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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 48.9291, -110.9738

Estimated forage here is better than about 78% of sites in Montana. Against other Montana sites it stands out most in summer (78th percentile) and lowest in spring (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.5 mi E, 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: 57th percentile (spring 21st, summer 79th, fall 92nd)
  • Montana: 78th percentile (spring 35th, summer 78th, fall 74th)
  • Northwestern Glaciated Plains: 47th percentile (spring 31st, summer 51st, fall 70th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Canola: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 122 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 43% 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.