Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 47.9881, -102.4860

Estimated forage here is better than about 27% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.12 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 51st, summer 81st, fall 95th)
  • North Dakota: 27th percentile (spring 95th, summer 21st, fall 36th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 65th percentile (spring 94th, summer 55th, fall 80th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 250 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 50% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.