Honey bee forage in Westby, Montana

When is the honey flow in Westby?

• First forage: Apr 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers)
• Main flow: May 16 to Aug 15, peaking early Jul (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), canola, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Westby, 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 23.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, native wildflowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): canola, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), lentils, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, 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), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), canola, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Canola: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Lentils: about 125 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Mustard: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – late 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 Westby

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Northern & Central Plains Ruderal & Planted Grassland; Barren.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; pond, lake or river 0.04 mi S.

How Westby ranks

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

About 49% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Antelope 22 mi · Plentywood 24 mi · Reserve 26 mi · Medicine Lake 33 mi · Outlook 33 mi · Homestead 38 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 Westby (48.8705, -104.0571); 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.