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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 48.8941, -112.0957

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: mustard (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 19th, summer 88th, fall 72nd)
  • Montana: 93rd percentile (spring 30th, summer 98th, fall 25th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 64th percentile (spring 27th, summer 70th, fall 31st)

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

Season

  • First forage: May 1 — Canola, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Mustard, Canola, Lentils
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Mustard: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Canola: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 109 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Peas: about 100 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Chickpeas: about 233 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Lentils: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 45% 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.