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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 37.8643, -121.2735

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (80th percentile) and lowest in fall (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 0.2 mi NE); cherries (nearest 1.2 mi NE); dry beans (nearest 0.9 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.37 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 95th percentile (spring 97th, summer 27th, fall 16th)
  • California: 89th percentile (spring 80th, summer 51st, fall 35th)
  • Central California Valley: 55th percentile (spring 50th, summer 52nd, fall 71st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Almonds, Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Mar 15 — Almonds, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 1,959 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 2,020 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Almonds, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, 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, Almonds, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% 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.

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.