Honey bee forage in Buttonwillow, California

When is the honey flow in Buttonwillow?

• First forage: Feb 1 (almonds)
• Main flow: Feb 1 to Mar 15, peaking late Feb (almonds)
• Season ends: Jun 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Buttonwillow, 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 Feb 26.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): almonds, alfalfa, cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): almonds, cotton, alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Almonds: about 1,982 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Feb – early Mar
• Cotton: about 173 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Grapes: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Apr – late Apr

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 Buttonwillow

Mostly: Pistachios; Almonds; Cotton.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.43 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.45 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 50% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); 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 Buttonwillow ranks

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

Nearby

Stebbins 7 mi · Tupman 9 mi · Smith Corner 10 mi · Mexican Colony 11 mi · Cherokee Strip 11 mi · McKittrick 13 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 Buttonwillow (35.4092, -119.4407); 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.