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 46.5039, -99.7679

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (88th percentile) and lowest in summer (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.24 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 41st, summer 91st, fall 98th)
  • North Dakota: 55th percentile (spring 88th, summer 50th, fall 63rd)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 85th percentile (spring 86th, summer 81st, fall 91st)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 941 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 974 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,429 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 1,663 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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