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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 46.8914, -102.7936

Estimated forage here is better than about 28% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 1.0 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 57th, summer 80th, fall 94th)
  • North Dakota: 28th percentile (spring 97th, summer 20th, fall 27th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 92nd percentile (spring 99th, summer 86th, fall 75th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North Dakota, 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 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 74 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 98 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 205 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late 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, Canola, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Canola; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 94% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.