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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 33.6897, -117.1833

Estimated forage here is better than about 70% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (72nd percentile) and lowest in spring (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: citrus (nearest 2.1 mi N); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 1.7 mi S). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi N. 3 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 73rd percentile (spring 78th, summer 29th, fall 38th)
  • California: 70th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 54th, fall 72nd)
  • Southern California/Northern Baja Coast: 41st percentile (spring 30th, summer 86th, fall 73rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Citrus: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NE, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Apr – early Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms early Apr – early Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms early Apr – early Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms early Apr – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 86% 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. 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); 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.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.