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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 38.0859, -122.5467

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in spring (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: clover and wildflowers (nearest 1.2 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 1.1 mi NE); safflower (nearest 2.9 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 84th, summer 33rd, fall 49th)
  • California: 71st percentile (spring 57th, summer 59th, fall 84th)
  • Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 25th percentile (spring 7th, summer 45th, fall 72nd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Clover and wildflowers: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Mar – early Jul
  • Grapes: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms early Apr – late Apr
  • Grapes: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late Apr
  • Safflower: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Grapes: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms early Apr – late Apr
  • Grapes: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late Apr

What the honey would be made of

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

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. 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.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.