Honey bee forage in Grand Bay, Alabama

When is the honey flow in Grand Bay?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 30, peaking late Feb (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Grand Bay, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Feb 23.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Cotton: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Watermelons: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Apr – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Grand Bay

Mostly: Eastern Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Wet Flatwoods; Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns).

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.28 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.28 mi S.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024); 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); Peaches: insecticides used on about 86% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cantaloupes: insecticides used on about 87% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.

How Grand Bay ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 56% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Bayou La Batre 7 mi · Theodore 10 mi · Tillmans Corner 11 mi · Belle Fontaine 14 mi · Dauphin Island 18 mi · Mobile 20 mi

All towns in Alabama · National map · How the scoring works

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. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Grand Bay (30.4721, -88.3444); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.