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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 48.4823, -107.5331

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 1.3 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 1.8 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 2 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: 43rd percentile (spring 47th, summer 60th, fall 81st)
  • Montana: 63rd percentile (spring 95th, summer 38th, fall 41st)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 36th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 18th, fall 46th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 527 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Lentils: about 267 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 308 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Lentils: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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