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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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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Forage report for 39.1258, -122.1508

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (7th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (right here); sunflower (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.27 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 100th percentile (spring 100th, summer 27th, fall 1st)
  • California: 99th percentile (spring 97th, summer 51st, fall 7th)
  • Central California Valley: 89th percentile (spring 87th, summer 52nd, fall 30th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Almonds
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Mar 15 — Almonds
  • Season ends: Jun 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 10,996 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 312 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Sunflower: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Almonds: about 1,140 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Sunflower: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Almonds, Sunflower, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Watermelons, Cucumbers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Almonds, Sunflower, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.

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.