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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 40.2277, -123.8187

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (53rd percentile) and lowest in fall (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: grapes (nearest 1.8 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 44th percentile (spring 80th, summer 12th, fall 9th)
  • California: 44th percentile (spring 53rd, summer 35th, fall 25th)
  • Coast Range: 13th percentile (spring 16th, summer 15th, fall 71st)

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, Maples, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Huckleberries
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Grapes: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early May
  • Grapes: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi N, blooms late Apr – early May
  • Grapes: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi N, blooms late Apr – early May

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Summer-flowering shrubs, Huckleberries, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Huckleberries, Dandelion; light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% 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.