Honey bee forage in Wheatland, Montana

When is the honey flow in Wheatland?

• First forage: Apr 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), arrowleaf balsamroot, native wildflowers)
• Main flow: May 16 to Sep 15, peaking late Jul (native wildflowers, spotted and diffuse knapweed, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 (spotted and diffuse knapweed, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush)
• Season ends: Nov 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Wheatland, 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): native wildflowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), arrowleaf balsamroot, weedy mustards; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): spotted and diffuse knapweed, native wildflowers, alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): native wildflowers, spotted and diffuse knapweed, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa; 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

• Alfalfa: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Mustard: about 128 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Chickpeas: about 620 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Lentils: about 237 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, 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 Wheatland

Mostly: Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland; Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane-Foothill-Valley Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi N; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.45 mi NE.

How Wheatland ranks

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

Nearby

Three Forks 5 mi · Logan 9 mi · Willow Creek 11 mi · Ponderosa Pines 11 mi · Gallatin River Ranch 13 mi · Manhattan 14 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 Wheatland (45.9624, -111.577); 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.