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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 35.8494, -119.3903

Estimated forage here is better than about 41% of sites in California. Against other California sites it ranks highest in fall (46th percentile) and lowest in summer (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 2.3 mi NE); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 2.5 mi E). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 40th percentile (spring 66th, summer 14th, fall 23rd)
  • California: 41st percentile (spring 44th, summer 36th, fall 46th)
  • Central California Valley: 8th percentile (spring 11th, summer 29th, fall 77th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Willows, Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Willows, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 1,067 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 979 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi N, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi N, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Almonds: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi N, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Grapes: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms early Apr – early May

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 51% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. 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.