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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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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 44.6041, -101.5013

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in South Dakota. Against other South Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 3.2 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 3.2 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 49th percentile (spring 60th, summer 56th, fall 82nd)
  • South Dakota: 40th percentile (spring 97th, summer 22nd, fall 43rd)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 99th, summer 46th, fall 24th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Native wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Sorghum: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Millet: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Native wildflowers, Dandelion; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Native wildflowers; light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.