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 38.1615, -121.6051
Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in summer (87th percentile) and lowest in fall (11th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 0.7 mi W); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 61st, fall 2nd)
- California: 76th percentile (spring 67th, summer 87th, fall 11th)
- Central California Valley: 33rd percentile (spring 37th, summer 90th, fall 39th)
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, Almonds, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers
- Season ends: Jul 31
Bee crops nearby
- Corn: about 335 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul
- Grapes: about 1,007 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
- Corn: about 566 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
- Corn: about 2,211 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
- Alfalfa: about 355 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jun
- Corn: about 1,216 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
- Summer honey (July and August): Cucumbers, Clover/Wildflowers, Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
- Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
- Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
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); Pears: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% 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.