Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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Forage on the map in —

National map

The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 43.1921, -103.8337

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (35th). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.2 mi N.

Ranking

Continental US: 50th percentile (spring 50th, summer 64th, fall 86th)
South Dakota: 40th percentile (spring 91st, summer 35th, fall 52nd)
Northwestern Great Plains: 74th percentile (spring 97th, summer 63rd, fall 35th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across South Dakota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
Main flow: Apr 1 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
Season ends: Oct 31

What the honey would be 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
Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Green/yellow rabbitbrush; light amber
Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.