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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 39.5138, -122.2004

Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (57th percentile) and lowest in fall (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: almonds (nearest 0.6 mi E); corn (nearest 1.5 mi NW). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi S. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 84th, summer 23rd, fall 14th)
  • California: 69th percentile (spring 57th, summer 47th, fall 32nd)
  • Central California Valley: 24th percentile (spring 26th, summer 46th, fall 68th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Almonds: about 2,676 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 145 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 254 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 387 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Almonds: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, 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, Almonds; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers
  • 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

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 40% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • Heavily developed. About 54% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.