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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 36.0312, -120.1151

Estimated forage here is better than about 82% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (59th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 3.0 mi NE); citrus (nearest 3.6 mi N); safflower (nearest 2.7 mi SW, 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.

Ranking

Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 97th, summer 33rd, fall 30th)
California: 82nd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 59th, fall 60th)
Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 53rd percentile (spring 48th, summer 45th, fall 34th)

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)
Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

Almonds: about 397 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi NE, blooms early Feb – early Mar
Citrus: about 297 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi N, blooms late Mar – early May
Almonds: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi S, blooms early Feb – early Mar
Safflower: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jun
Almonds: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi S, blooms early Feb – early Mar
Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs, Spring-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; extra light amber
Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Rabbitbrush; amber
Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

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.