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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 36.0825, -119.5592

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in summer (56th percentile) and lowest in fall (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 0.3 mi NE); cotton (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away. 3 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 77th, summer 31st, fall 16th)
  • California: 62nd percentile (spring 51st, summer 56th, fall 36th)
  • Central California Valley: 18th percentile (spring 19th, summer 60th, fall 72nd)

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, Maples, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Mar 31 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Almonds
  • Fall flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 147 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 752 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Cotton: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Corn: about 121 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 50% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • Heavily developed. About 54% 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. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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.

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.