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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 34.1401, -114.3623

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (55th percentile) and lowest in summer (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); citrus (nearest 1.3 mi SE); cotton (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 30th percentile (spring 57th, summer 10th, fall 27th)
  • California: 37th percentile (spring 40th, summer 31st, fall 55th)
  • Sonoran Basin and Range: 86th percentile (spring 85th, summer 88th, fall 44th)

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: Jan 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 4,423 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early Apr – late May
  • Alfalfa: about 121 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early Apr – late May
  • Citrus: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Mar – late Apr
  • Alfalfa: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Apr – late May
  • Citrus: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Mar – late Apr
  • Citrus: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Mar – late Apr

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Rabbitbrush, Cotton, Dandelion; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Rabbitbrush, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); dark amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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); 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.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.