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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 48.5404, -109.6765

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (53rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 1.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 1.7 mi E, 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. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 61st, summer 76th, fall 85th)
  • Montana: 90th percentile (spring 99th, summer 71st, fall 53rd)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 59th percentile (spring 98th, summer 44th, fall 55th)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Dandelion, Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Mustard: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Peas: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers; 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 69% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.