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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 39.5282, -121.4654

Estimated forage here is better than about 68% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (61st percentile) and lowest in fall (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: citrus (nearest 1.5 mi SW); almonds (nearest 2.0 mi SW); oranges (nearest 3.0 mi S). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 88th, summer 25th, fall 24th)
  • California: 68th percentile (spring 61st, summer 49th, fall 48th)
  • Central California Foothills and Coastal Mountains: 22nd percentile (spring 10th, summer 30th, fall 25th)

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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Citrus: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SW, blooms late Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi S, blooms late Mar – early May
  • Citrus: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms late Mar – early May
  • Almonds: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Feb – late Mar
  • Oranges: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi S, blooms late Mar – early May

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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

  • 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); Oranges: insecticides used on about 93% 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.