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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 47.6136, -111.9814

Estimated forage here is better than about 64% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.8 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 44th percentile (spring 40th, summer 69th, fall 63rd)
  • Montana: 64th percentile (spring 90th, summer 59th, fall 13th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 36th percentile (spring 86th, summer 34th, fall 19th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 126 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Canola: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 124 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 42% 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.