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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 36.9635, -121.8347

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: apples (nearest 1.3 mi E); strawberries (nearest 1.7 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 88th, summer 28th, fall 62nd)
California: 76th percentile (spring 61st, summer 52nd, fall 94th)
Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 36th percentile (spring 11th, summer 35th, fall 97th)

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)
Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

Apples: about 121 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Feb – early Mar
Apples: about 133 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SE, blooms late Feb – early Mar
Apples: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, blooms late Feb – early Mar
Apples: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms late Feb – early Mar
Apples: about 277 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi E, blooms late Feb – early Mar
Apples: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms late Feb – early 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, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion; extra light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber

Things to watch

Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% 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.