Arcadia Bees
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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 45.6699, -111.1781

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in Montana. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Montana sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 61st, summer 85th, fall 97th)
  • Montana: 98th percentile (spring 99th, summer 94th, fall 90th)
  • Middle Rockies: 99th percentile (spring 99th, summer 98th, fall 86th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 190 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 221 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 149 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 59% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.