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 39.7704, -121.5135
Estimated forage here is better than about 60% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (69th percentile) and lowest in fall (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: apples (nearest 3.6 mi W); cherries (nearest 3.6 mi S). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.
Ranking
- Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 94th, summer 15th, fall 6th)
- California: 60th percentile (spring 69th, summer 38th, fall 21st)
- Sierra Nevada: 83rd percentile (spring 90th, summer 11th, fall 16th)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across California, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Feb 1 — Kinnikinnick, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Main flow: Mar 1 to May 15 — Spring-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Season ends: Aug 15
Bee crops nearby
- Apples: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi W, blooms early Mar – late Mar
- Cherries: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi S, blooms late Feb – late Mar
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Spring-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Snowberry; light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs, Snowberry; light amber
- Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; amber
- Whole season (March to November): Spring-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Snowberry; light amber
Things to watch
- 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.