Arcadia Bees
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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 38.5384, -121.7583

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in fall (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); almonds (nearest 0.4 mi NW); alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.34 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 97th, summer 48th, fall 26th)
  • California: 84th percentile (spring 78th, summer 74th, fall 52nd)
  • Central California Valley: 46th percentile (spring 47th, summer 82nd, fall 79th)

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, Maples, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Mar 31 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Almonds
  • Fall flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Sunflower, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 251 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Almonds: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Sunflower: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Almonds: about 606 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 174 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms early Feb – late Mar

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Sunflower, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers
  • Whole season (March to November): Sunflower, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 74% 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.