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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.

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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 36.5045, -121.4453

Estimated forage here is better than about 66% of sites in California. Against other California sites it ranks highest in spring (49th percentile) and lowest in fall (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: grapes (nearest 0.8 mi E); almonds (nearest 0.3 mi SE); citrus (nearest 2.8 mi SW). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.2 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 19th, fall 10th)
  • California: 66th percentile (spring 49th, summer 43rd, fall 26th)
  • Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 17th percentile (spring 3rd, summer 19th, fall 8th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Maples, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Mar 15 — Almonds, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Apr 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Grapes: about 3,052 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Mar – late Apr
  • Almonds: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Feb – early Mar
  • Almonds: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Feb – early Mar
  • Citrus: about 197 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms early Mar – early May
  • Cherries: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Feb
  • Grapes: about 1,102 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms late Mar – late Apr

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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); Citrus: grapefruit: insecticides used on about 63% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: lemons: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: tangerines: insecticides used on about 82% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% of surveyed US acres (2025); Strawberries: insecticides used on about 96% 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.