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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 48.6934, -104.4540

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (78th percentile) and lowest in fall (15th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.48 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 52nd percentile (spring 28th, summer 79th, fall 65th)
  • Montana: 73rd percentile (spring 65th, summer 78th, fall 15th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 44th percentile (spring 57th, summer 50th, fall 21st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Peas, Lentils
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Lentils: about 133 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Peas: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 272 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 36% 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.