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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 39.4021, -122.0189

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in California. Against other California sites it ranks highest in spring (44th percentile) and lowest in fall (17th). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 0.1 mi E); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.3 mi SE, grown 1 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: 43rd percentile (spring 66th, summer 16th, fall 4th)
  • California: 44th percentile (spring 44th, summer 39th, fall 17th)
  • Central California Valley: 9th percentile (spring 11th, summer 33rd, fall 50th)

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 15 — Almonds, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Apr 1 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Sunflower
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 220 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Alfalfa: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Almonds: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Sunflower: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 35% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.