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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 37.4915, -118.3889

Estimated forage here is better than about 18% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (74th percentile) and lowest in summer (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.0 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.35 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 4th percentile (spring 23rd, summer 6th, fall 39th)
  • California: 18th percentile (spring 26th, summer 24th, fall 74th)
  • Central Basin and Range: 15th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 4th, fall 9th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Weedy mustards
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31 — Native wildflowers, Spring-flowering shrubs, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Oct 31 — Rabbitbrush, Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Asters
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Native wildflowers, Spring-flowering shrubs, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Native wildflowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Rabbitbrush, Asters, Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Rabbitbrush, Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Rubber rabbitbrush, Asters; dark amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Native wildflowers, Rabbitbrush, Spring-flowering shrubs, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); amber

Things to watch

  • 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.