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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 48.5590, -110.7107

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (65th percentile) and lowest in fall (6th). Biggest nearby bee crops: lentils (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.5 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 37th percentile (spring 24th, summer 73rd, fall 55th)
  • Montana: 55th percentile (spring 48th, summer 65th, fall 6th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 30th percentile (spring 43rd, summer 40th, fall 10th)

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), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Lentils, Mustard, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Lentils: about 401 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 157 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Peas: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Mustard: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Mustard, Peas, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Lentils, Mustard, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Lentils, Mustard, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 54% 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.