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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 37.9728, -120.3391

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in California. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other California sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: apples (nearest 2.3 mi N); citrus (nearest 2.9 mi S). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 79th percentile (spring 96th, summer 40th, fall 41st)
  • California: 75th percentile (spring 74th, summer 67th, fall 75th)
  • Sierra Nevada: 96th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 40th, 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 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Apples: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi N, blooms early Mar – late Mar
  • Apples: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi N, blooms early Mar – late Mar
  • Apples: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi N, blooms early Mar – late Mar
  • Apples: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NE, blooms early Mar – late Mar
  • Apples: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms early Mar – late Mar
  • Citrus: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms early Apr – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: grapefruit: insecticides used on about 63% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: lemons: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: tangerines: insecticides used on about 82% 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.