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.

Forage on the map in —

National map

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 39.8045, -120.5890

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in summer (89th percentile) and lowest in spring (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.6 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 39th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 63rd, fall 18th)
California: 40th percentile (spring 38th, summer 89th, fall 39th)
Sierra Nevada: 50th percentile (spring 50th, summer 75th, fall 37th)

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

Season

First forage: Apr 1 — Kinnikinnick, Maples, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Snowberry, Kinnikinnick, Spring-flowering shrubs
Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug
Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Kinnikinnick, Spring-flowering shrubs, Ceanothus: redstem, Oregon grape; light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Snowberry, Summer-flowering shrubs, Ceanothus: redstem, Kinnikinnick; light amber
Fall honey (September to November): Snowberry, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion; light amber
Whole season (March to November): Snowberry, Kinnikinnick, Spring-flowering shrubs, Ceanothus: redstem; 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.