Honey bee forage in Sentinel Butte, North Dakota

When is the honey flow in Sentinel Butte?

• First forage: Apr 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: May 16 to Sep 15, peaking late Jul (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Sentinel Butte, 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 20.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, canola; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, canola, clovers: white, alsike and red; 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, buckwheat; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, alfalfa, dandelion; 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 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Lentils: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 2 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 Sentinel Butte

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

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.23 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.26 mi SW.

How Sentinel Butte ranks

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

About 52% 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

Beach 8 mi · Golva 14 mi · Medora 15 mi · Belfield 31 mi · Amidon 39 mi · South Heart 40 mi

All towns in North Dakota · 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 Sentinel Butte (46.9194, -103.8406); 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.