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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 48.5034, -104.5030

Estimated forage here is better than about 87% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in fall (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: mustard (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi S). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.24 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 50th, summer 79th, fall 74th)
  • Montana: 87th percentile (spring 96th, summer 78th, fall 28th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 55th percentile (spring 94th, summer 50th, fall 35th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Mustard, Lentils
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Mustard: about 143 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 318 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Lentils: about 253 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 38% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.