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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 48.1810, -112.4747

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in fall (90th percentile) and lowest in spring (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.9 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.19 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 57th percentile (spring 19th, summer 78th, fall 97th)
  • Montana: 79th percentile (spring 30th, summer 77th, fall 90th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 47th percentile (spring 28th, summer 49th, fall 86th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Season ends: Nov 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 374 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 602 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Lentils: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Lentils: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 575 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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