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 37.8816, -122.1700

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (70th). 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: 91st percentile (spring 97th, summer 43rd, fall 51st)
  • California: 86th percentile (spring 80th, summer 70th, fall 85th)
  • Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 62nd percentile (spring 44th, summer 62nd, fall 77th)

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 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 90% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.