Honey bee forage in Agua Dulce, California

When is the honey flow in Agua Dulce?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), spring-flowering shrubs)
• Main flow: Feb 16 to Apr 30, peaking early Mar (spring-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Jul 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Agua Dulce, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Mar 2.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): spring-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): spring-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Grapes: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms early Apr – early May

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Agua Dulce

Mostly: Southern California Dry-Mesic Chaparral; Southern California Coastal Scrub; California Ruderal Scrub.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.12 mi SE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.24 mi W.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Agua Dulce ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 70% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Leona Valley 7 mi · Acton 8 mi · Green Valley 9 mi · Elizabeth Lake 11 mi · Desert View Highlands 11 mi · Santa Clarita 12 mi

All towns in California · National map · How the scoring works

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. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Agua Dulce (34.5017, -118.3207); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.