Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 46.1497, -103.1451

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in fall (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, 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: 93rd percentile (spring 35th, summer 94th, fall 96th)
  • North Dakota: 62nd percentile (spring 78th, summer 62nd, fall 41st)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 98th percentile (spring 78th, summer 98th, fall 89th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Sunflower, Canola
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 133 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 183 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 88 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 211 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 45% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.