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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 46.5963, -112.0166

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% 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: alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi NE). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.67 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 48th, summer 70th, fall 82nd)
  • Montana: 75th percentile (spring 96th, summer 60th, fall 45th)
  • Middle Rockies: 87th percentile (spring 98th, summer 69th, fall 39th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 81 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 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, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 96% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.