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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 36.6018, -119.4489

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (88th percentile) and lowest in fall (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 1.0 mi W); citrus (nearest 0.6 mi W); peaches (nearest 1.4 mi W). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.21 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 98th, summer 20th, fall 21st)
  • California: 85th percentile (spring 88th, summer 44th, fall 43rd)
  • Central California Valley: 48th percentile (spring 60th, summer 41st, fall 75th)

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, Almonds
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15 — Citrus, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 217 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Citrus: about 156 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms late Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms late Mar – early May

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Citrus, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Almonds; white
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Citrus, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; white

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 86% 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. 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); Peaches: insecticides used on about 86% 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.