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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 47.9532, -110.4885

Estimated forage here is better than about 7% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (63rd percentile) and lowest in summer (6th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.2 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 2.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 1.7 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 17th percentile (spring 28th, summer 43rd, fall 69th)
  • Montana: 7th percentile (spring 63rd, summer 6th, fall 19th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 2nd percentile (spring 56th, summer 1st, fall 26th)

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: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Mustard: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Mustard: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Mustard: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Peas: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Chickpeas: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early 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, Native wildflowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Alfalfa, Native wildflowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Green/yellow rabbitbrush; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.