Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 48.8542, -108.6628

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (3rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: mustard (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.21 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 33rd, summer 87th, fall 48th)
  • Montana: 93rd percentile (spring 79th, summer 97th, fall 3rd)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 63rd percentile (spring 71st, summer 69th, fall 6th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Canola, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Canola, Mustard, Peas
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Mustard: about 348 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Canola: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 284 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Peas: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Mustard: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 60% 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.