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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 46.0340, -111.3666

Estimated forage here is better than about 52% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (87th percentile) and lowest in fall (39th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 1.2 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 36th percentile (spring 37th, summer 61st, fall 80th)
  • Montana: 52nd percentile (spring 87th, summer 40th, fall 39th)
  • Middle Rockies: 67th percentile (spring 94th, summer 42nd, fall 34th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Willows
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Native wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Season ends: Nov 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Chickpeas: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Peas: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Arrowleaf balsamroot, Willows; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Native wildflowers, Snowberry; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Rubber rabbitbrush; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Native wildflowers, Green/yellow rabbitbrush; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.