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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 48.0730, -112.2985

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (82nd percentile) and lowest in fall (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: mustard (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.33 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 20th, summer 80th, fall 71st)
  • Montana: 75th percentile (spring 33rd, summer 82nd, fall 22nd)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 45th percentile (spring 30th, summer 54th, fall 29th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Aug 15 — Mustard, Alfalfa, Peas
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Mustard: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Peas: about 165 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 302 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Peas, Mustard; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Mustard, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Peas; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Mustard, Peas; white

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 43% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.