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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.

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 48.2937, -109.8735

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (73rd percentile) and lowest in summer (53rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 1.1 mi NE, 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: 40th percentile (spring 30th, summer 66th, fall 87th)
  • Montana: 59th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 53rd, fall 56th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 33rd percentile (spring 65th, summer 29th, fall 57th)

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), Native wildflowers, Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 16 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 257 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.