Honey bee forage in Mendota, California

When is the honey flow in Mendota?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), almonds)
• Main flow: Feb 1 to Mar 31, peaking early Mar (dandelion, almonds, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Fall flow: Apr 16 to Apr 30 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Mendota, 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 3.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, almonds; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, cotton, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set over some 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 318 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
• Cotton: about 846 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Grapes: about 220 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, 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 Mendota

Mostly: Almonds; Pistachios; Fallow / idle cropland.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.48 mi E; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.6 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 59% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• 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 Mendota ranks

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

Nearby

Firebaugh 8 mi · Tranquillity 10 mi · San Joaquin 15 mi · La Vina 17 mi · Three Rocks 17 mi · Kerman 18 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 Mendota (36.7576, -120.3805); 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.