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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 48.5968, -112.6027

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer and fall (53rd percentile) and lowest in spring (8th). Biggest nearby bee crops: lentils (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.23 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 27th percentile (spring 5th, summer 67th, fall 86th)
  • Montana: 37th percentile (spring 8th, summer 53rd, fall 53rd)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 16th percentile (spring 5th, summer 30th, fall 56th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 — Lentils, Alfalfa, Chick Peas
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Lentils: about 117 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Chickpeas: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Lentils: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 216 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Oct
  • Lentils: about 696 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Peas: about 161 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Peas, Dandelion, Native wildflowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Lentils, Alfalfa, Chick Peas, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Lentils, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Peas; white

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 44% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.