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 47.3066, -102.2042

Estimated forage here is better than about 20% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi S); canola (nearest 1.6 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.1 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 46th, summer 76th, fall 97th)
  • North Dakota: 20th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 16th, fall 49th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 86th percentile (spring 96th, summer 80th, fall 93rd)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 90 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Sunflower: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.