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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 48.5639, -109.6713

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (46th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 0.9 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.25 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 50th percentile (spring 45th, summer 68th, fall 82nd)
  • Montana: 71st percentile (spring 94th, summer 57th, fall 46th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 42nd percentile (spring 90th, summer 32nd, fall 50th)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Mustard: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Mustard: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.