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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 36.9027, -121.7426

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in California. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other California sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: strawberries (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 1.9 mi N); cherries (nearest 0.7 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.41 mi N. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 76th, summer 19th, fall 20th)
  • California: 62nd percentile (spring 50th, summer 43rd, fall 41st)
  • Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 13th percentile (spring 3rd, summer 19th, fall 19th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Strawberries: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jan – early Apr
  • Strawberries: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jan – early Apr
  • Apples: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms late Feb – early Mar
  • Strawberries: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jan – early Apr
  • Apples: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms late Feb – early Mar
  • Strawberries: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jan – early Apr

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Strawberries; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, 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): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Strawberries; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Strawberries: insecticides used on about 96% of surveyed US acres (2025); Apples: insecticides used on about 77% 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). 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, AO) 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.