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 34.5277, -117.3517

Estimated forage here is better than about 47% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (73rd percentile) and lowest in spring (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 3.6 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.19 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 47th percentile (spring 71st, summer 29th, fall 39th)
  • California: 47th percentile (spring 48th, summer 53rd, fall 73rd)
  • Mojave Basin and Range: 98th percentile (spring 97th, summer 98th, fall 94th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi E, blooms late Apr – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Rabbitbrush; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Rabbitbrush; dark amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 70% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.