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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 47.4119, -104.9195

Estimated forage here is better than about 16% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it ranks highest in summer (36th percentile) and lowest in fall (10th). Biggest nearby bee crops: lentils (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.5 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 20th percentile (spring 20th, summer 58th, fall 60th)
  • Montana: 16th percentile (spring 31st, summer 36th, fall 10th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 17th percentile (spring 14th, summer 53rd, fall 2nd)

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), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Peas, Lentils
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Lentils: about 169 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Peas: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Lentils: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Peas: about 156 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Lentils: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 54% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.