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.

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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 39.1493, -122.1383

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (74th percentile) and lowest in fall (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 0.1 mi SE); sunflower (nearest 1.3 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 96th, summer 28th, fall 10th)
  • California: 84th percentile (spring 74th, summer 53rd, fall 26th)
  • Central California Valley: 46th percentile (spring 43rd, summer 54th, fall 62nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Almonds, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Mar 15 — Almonds, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 5,141 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 128 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 1,136 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 312 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Feb – late Mar

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Almonds, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), 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), Almonds, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 38% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

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.