Honey bee forage in Twin Hills Colony, Montana

When is the honey flow in Twin Hills Colony?

• First forage: Apr 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Main flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31, peaking early Jul (lentils, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), chick Peas)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Twin Hills Colony, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on May 18.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), peas, lentils, mustard; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): lentils, chick Peas, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), mustard; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), lentils, chick Peas, peas; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Lentils: about 277 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Chickpeas: about 339 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Mustard: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Twin Hills Colony

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Inter-Mountain Basins Mat Saltbush Shrubland; Winter Wheat.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.11 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.31 mi E.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 39% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

How Twin Hills Colony ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

Nearby

Riverview Colony 12 mi · Carter 18 mi · Sunnybrook Colony 19 mi · Floweree 20 mi · Fort Benton 23 mi · Loma 27 mi

All towns in Montana · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Twin Hills Colony (48.0168, -111.0698); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.