Arcadia Bees
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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 48.8678, -112.3419

Estimated forage here is better than about 39% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (67th percentile) and lowest in spring (4th). Biggest nearby bee crops: lentils (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 28th percentile (spring 2nd, summer 74th, fall 57th)
  • Montana: 39th percentile (spring 4th, summer 67th, fall 7th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 17th percentile (spring 1st, summer 41st, fall 13th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Lentils: about 492 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Peas: about 439 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Chickpeas: about 227 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Peas: about 124 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Peas: about 198 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Chickpeas: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 52% 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.