community in California
Honey bee forage in Butte Meadows, California
Estimated forage here is better than about 50% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in summer (83rd percentile) and lowest in fall (38th). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.
When is the honey flow in Butte Meadows?
- First forage: Mar 16 (willows, kinnikinnick, dandelion)
- Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30, peaking early May (snowberry, ceanothus: redstem, kinnikinnick)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Butte Meadows, 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 May 5.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): snowberry, ceanothus: redstem, kinnikinnick, willows; amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): snowberry, summer-flowering shrubs, spotted and diffuse knapweed, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Fall honey (September to November): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, spotted and diffuse knapweed, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): snowberry, ceanothus: redstem, kinnikinnick, willows; 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
No rated bee crops within about 3.7 miles of the town center. The forage here is wild plants, trees and gardens.
The land and water around Butte Meadows
Mostly: Mediterranean California Dry-Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland; Mediterranean California Mesic Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland; California Montane Woodland and Chaparral.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.04 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.12 mi NW.
How Butte Meadows ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 50th | 70th | 58th | 17th |
| California | 50th | 47th | 83rd | 38th |
| Cascades | 29th | 48th | 14th | 36th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 91% 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.
The national forage map around Butte Meadows: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Stirling City 12 mi · Forest Ranch 15 mi · Belden 16 mi · Cohasset 17 mi · Tobin 17 mi · Magalia 19 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 Butte Meadows (40.0853, -121.5427); 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.