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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 46.0366, -112.5413

Estimated forage here is better than about 61% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in fall (81st percentile) and lowest in spring (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.12 mi E.

Ranking

Continental US: 41st percentile (spring 13th, summer 70th, fall 94th)
Montana: 61st percentile (spring 19th, summer 61st, fall 81st)
Middle Rockies: 75th percentile (spring 64th, summer 71st, fall 74th)

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

Season

First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Arrowleaf balsamroot, Willows
Main flow: Jun 1 to Sep 15 — Native wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Snowberry
Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
Season ends: Nov 15

Bee crops nearby

Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Aug – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

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.