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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 36.6905, -121.6329

Estimated forage here is better than about 68% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (67th percentile) and lowest in spring (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: strawberries (nearest 1.8 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 0.2 mi NW); almonds (nearest 2.3 mi NE). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 3 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 75th, summer 29th, fall 32nd)
  • California: 68th percentile (spring 50th, summer 53rd, fall 67th)
  • Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 21st percentile (spring 3rd, summer 37th, fall 38th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Maples
  • Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 15 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: May 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Strawberries: about 162 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early Jan – early Apr
  • Strawberries: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms early Jan – early Apr
  • Grapes: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Mar – late Apr
  • Strawberries: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi NW, blooms early Jan – early Apr
  • Strawberries: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NE, blooms early Jan – early Apr
  • Strawberries: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi N, blooms early Jan – early Apr

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 75% 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. Strawberries: insecticides used on about 96% of surveyed US acres (2025); 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.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.