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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 46.2989, -109.2511

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in fall (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.1 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 49th, summer 71st, fall 82nd)
  • Montana: 77th percentile (spring 96th, summer 61st, fall 45th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 79th percentile (spring 97th, summer 73rd, fall 24th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 119 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 74 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.