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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 47.5978, -110.7697

Estimated forage here is better than about 38% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (73rd percentile) and lowest in fall (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: lentils (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.22 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 28th percentile (spring 30th, summer 60th, fall 73rd)
  • Montana: 38th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 39th, fall 28th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 17th percentile (spring 65th, summer 20th, fall 34th)

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
  • Main flow: May 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Lentils: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Chickpeas: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Canola: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul

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): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Lentils; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa; 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

  • 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.