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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 48.7172, -112.2283

Estimated forage here is better than about 78% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (83rd percentile) and lowest in fall (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.13 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 24th, summer 81st, fall 68th)
  • Montana: 78th percentile (spring 47th, summer 83rd, fall 19th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 46th percentile (spring 41st, summer 55th, fall 26th)

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, Canola
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Canola, Lentils
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 126 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Chickpeas: about 119 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Canola: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Lentils: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 48% 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.