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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 45.4440, -105.4083

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (62nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 1.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.14 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 63rd percentile (spring 56th, summer 72nd, fall 88th)
  • Montana: 84th percentile (spring 98th, summer 64th, fall 62nd)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 84th percentile (spring 99th, summer 75th, fall 46th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 98 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 232 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 906 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 163 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.