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 47.1051, -104.7098

Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 1.7 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.37 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 49th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 64th, fall 77th)
  • Montana: 69th percentile (spring 97th, summer 48th, fall 34th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 98th, summer 64th, fall 15th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.