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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 46.2926, -107.2293

Estimated forage here is better than about 78% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in fall (17th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi E). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 57th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 77th, fall 66th)
  • Montana: 78th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 74th, fall 17th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 80th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 81st, fall 4th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Canola: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 192 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing 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.