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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 48.8630, -100.0250

Estimated forage here is better than about 28% of sites in North Dakota. Against other North Dakota sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (10th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 1.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.4 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 71st, summer 76th, fall 85th)
North Dakota: 28th percentile (spring 99th, summer 16th, fall 10th)
Northern Glaciated Plains: 3rd percentile (spring 99th, summer 1st, fall 30th)

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

Season

First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs
Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

Canola: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
Soybeans: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Sep
Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
Peas: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
Canola: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Dandelion; amber
Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber

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.