Honey bee forage in Soda Bay, California

When is the honey flow in Soda Bay?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, maples, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15, peaking late Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Soda Bay, 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 18.

What the honey is made of

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

• Pears: about 565 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms early Mar – late Mar
• Grapes: about 140 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi W, blooms late Apr – late 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 Soda Bay

Mostly: Open water; Northern and Central California Dry-Mesic Chaparral; Mediterranean California Mixed Oak Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.2 mi SW; pond, lake or river 0.47 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pears: insecticides used on about 77% 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 Soda Bay ranks

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

About 44% 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

Kelseyville 4 mi · Lucerne 4 mi · Clearlake Riviera 5 mi · Clearlake Oaks 7 mi · Lakeport 8 mi · Clearlake 8 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 Soda Bay (39.0024, -122.7795); 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.