Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 38.4181, -121.5410

Estimated forage here is better than about 60% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (64th percentile) and lowest in fall (15th). Biggest nearby bee crops: grapes (right here); alfalfa (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 0.1 mi E). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 91st, summer 28th, fall 4th)
  • California: 60th percentile (spring 64th, summer 52nd, fall 15th)
  • Central California Valley: 17th percentile (spring 34th, summer 54th, fall 47th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to May 15 — Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 — Alfalfa, Safflower
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Grapes: about 1,682 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Grapes: about 1,380 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Grapes: about 2,136 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Alfalfa: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Grapes: about 1,602 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Apples: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms late Feb – early Mar

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cucumbers, Garden flowers, Clover/Wildflowers, 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, Cucumbers, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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); Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% of surveyed US acres (2024); Pears: 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 (A) 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.