Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 34.4504, -119.2473

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: citrus (nearest 0.9 mi NE). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.39 mi E. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 98th percentile (spring 98th, summer 32nd, fall 39th)
  • California: 90th percentile (spring 91st, summer 57th, fall 73rd)
  • Southern California/Northern Baja Coast: 97th percentile (spring 96th, summer 91st, fall 74th)

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 Apr 30 — Citrus, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Citrus: about 220 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 894 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early Mar – early May

What the honey would be made of

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