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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 45.3126, -110.8090

Estimated forage here is better than about 68% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in fall (88th percentile) and lowest in summer (60th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi NW). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 47th percentile (spring 28th, summer 70th, fall 96th)
  • Montana: 68th percentile (spring 66th, summer 60th, fall 88th)
  • Middle Rockies: 82nd percentile (spring 88th, summer 68th, fall 84th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Arrowleaf balsamroot, Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: May 16 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Native wildflowers, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Season ends: Nov 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 170 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Native wildflowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Arrowleaf balsamroot; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Native wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Alfalfa, Rubber rabbitbrush; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Native wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra 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.