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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 45.5501, -108.8368

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in fall (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi SW, 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: 54th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 73rd, fall 79th)
  • Montana: 75th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 66th, fall 37th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 78th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 77th, fall 17th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 206 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi W, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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