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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 47.3525, -111.1702

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi NW); peas (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 0.9 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 42nd percentile (spring 33rd, summer 66th, fall 88th)
  • Montana: 62nd percentile (spring 80th, summer 52nd, fall 62nd)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 65th percentile (spring 69th, summer 67th, fall 46th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Chickpeas: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 176 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 109 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.