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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 48.7917, -105.4197

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in spring (83rd percentile) and lowest in fall (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.12 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 57th percentile (spring 34th, summer 79th, fall 74th)
  • Montana: 79th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 78th, fall 29th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 47th percentile (spring 75th, summer 50th, fall 36th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Lentils: about 197 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 297 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Peas: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Lentils: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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