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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 32.8668, -114.4357

Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in Arizona. Against other Arizona sites it stands out most in spring (64th percentile) and lowest in fall (19th). Expect a dearth in late Jun. Biggest nearby bee crops: citrus (nearest 0.4 mi SW); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 1.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.18 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 12th percentile (spring 34th, summer 4th, fall 22nd)
  • Arizona: 69th percentile (spring 64th, summer 34th, fall 19th)
  • Sonoran Basin and Range: 80th percentile (spring 76th, summer 78th, fall 30th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Arizona, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Citrus
  • Dearth: Jun 16 to Jun 30
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Citrus: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Feb – late Apr
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Mar – late May
  • Citrus: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SW, blooms late Feb – late Apr
  • Citrus: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms late Feb – late Apr
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late Mar – late May
  • Cotton: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Citrus, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Rabbitbrush; amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Rabbitbrush, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; dark amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Citrus, Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Citrus: grapefruit: insecticides used on about 63% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: lemons: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: tangerines: insecticides used on about 82% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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.

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. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.