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 48.0681, -103.8449

Estimated forage here is better than about 11% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in fall (8th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.9 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.7 mi NW, 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: 49th percentile (spring 44th, summer 68th, fall 82nd)
  • North Dakota: 11th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 9th, fall 8th)
  • Northwestern Great Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 95th, summer 70th, fall 25th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 133 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 289 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jul

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