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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 36.9471, -120.0215

Estimated forage here is better than about 87% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (87th percentile) and lowest in fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 0.5 mi E); grapes (nearest 0.3 mi NW). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 93rd percentile (spring 98th, summer 28th, fall 18th)
  • California: 87th percentile (spring 87th, summer 52nd, fall 40th)
  • Central California Valley: 52nd percentile (spring 59th, summer 54th, fall 74th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Almonds
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Mar 31 — Almonds, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Apr 16 to May 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 264 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 2,842 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Grapes: about 1,458 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Almonds: about 1,732 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Grapes: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Almonds: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, 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, Almonds, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), 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): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Almonds, 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). 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.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.