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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 48.3695, -114.1918

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in Montana. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Montana sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.47 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 69th, summer 85th, fall 98th)
  • Montana: 99th percentile (spring 100th, summer 94th, fall 93rd)
  • Northern Rockies: 95th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 76th, fall 98th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Willows
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Canola: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Willows, Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Snowberry, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 74% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.