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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 36.2040, -120.0931

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in summer (58th percentile) and lowest in fall (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 1.4 mi NW); cotton (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); honeydew melons (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.25 mi NW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 32nd, fall 8th)
  • California: 58th percentile (spring 49th, summer 58th, fall 24th)
  • Central California Valley: 16th percentile (spring 16th, summer 62nd, fall 60th)

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), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: May 16 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 687 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 1,530 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 194 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 611 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 646 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 768 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms early Feb – late Mar

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 40% 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. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Honeydew Melons: insecticides used on about 98% of surveyed US acres (2024); 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.

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.