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 39.4946, -121.5598
Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in fall (72nd percentile) and lowest in summer (62nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 2.5 mi W); citrus (nearest 1.2 mi S). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 36th, fall 38th)
- California: 76th percentile (spring 65th, summer 62nd, fall 72nd)
- Central California Valley: 34th percentile (spring 34th, summer 68th, fall 86th)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across California, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Season ends: Sep 30
Bee crops nearby
- Almonds: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
- Citrus: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms late Mar – early May
- Almonds: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi S, blooms early Feb – late Mar
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 79% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Citrus: grapefruit: insecticides used on about 63% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: lemons: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: tangerines: insecticides used on about 82% 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.
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.