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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 47.5326, -111.4865

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (89th percentile) and lowest in fall (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.5 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.26 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 46th percentile (spring 39th, summer 71st, fall 73rd)
  • Montana: 67th percentile (spring 89th, summer 62nd, fall 28th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 39th percentile (spring 84th, summer 36th, fall 34th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Canola: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Peas: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.