Honey bee forage in Topaz, California

When is the honey flow in Topaz?

• First forage: Mar 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, alfalfa, dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Topaz, 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 Apr 28.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, alfalfa; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red, spotted and diffuse knapweed, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, spotted and diffuse knapweed, dandelion, green/yellow rabbitbrush; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, alfalfa, spotted and diffuse knapweed; 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

• Alfalfa: about 454 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)

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 Topaz

Mostly: Western Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland; Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Sagebrush Steppe.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.02 mi W; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.04 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); Apples: 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 Topaz ranks

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

Nearby

Coleville 4 mi · Walker 8 mi · Markleeville 18 mi · Alpine Village 19 mi · Mesa Vista 20 mi · Kirkwood 30 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 Topaz (38.6381, -119.5018); 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.