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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 48.1442, -104.2218

Estimated forage here is better than about 78% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 44th, summer 72nd, fall 93rd)
Montana: 78th percentile (spring 94th, summer 64th, fall 77th)
Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 47th percentile (spring 89th, summer 38th, fall 72nd)

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

Season

First forage: Apr 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Native wildflowers
Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red
Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

Peas: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul
Alfalfa: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
Alfalfa: about 175 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
Lentils: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
Mustard: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Jul
Corn: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Sep

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): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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.