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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 38.9278, -121.5159

Estimated forage here is better than about 39% of sites in California. Against other California sites it ranks highest in spring (44th percentile) and lowest in fall (5th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 1.1 mi NW); alfalfa (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 1.9 mi N, grown 3 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: 35th percentile (spring 64th, summer 16th, fall 1st)
  • California: 39th percentile (spring 44th, summer 39th, fall 5th)
  • Central California Valley: 7th percentile (spring 10th, summer 34th, fall 22nd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across California, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Almonds
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Mar 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Almonds
  • Fall flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 440 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 359 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Alfalfa: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Almonds: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Almonds; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Almonds; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 39% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Prunes: insecticides used on about 54% 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.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.