Honey bee forage in Union Springs, Alabama

When is the honey flow in Union Springs?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Union Springs, 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 Mar 7.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• 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, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

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 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi S, blooms late Apr – late Jun (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 Union Springs

Mostly: Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Eastern Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.05 mi SW; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.28 mi E.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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.

How Union Springs ranks

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

About 64% 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

Fitzpatrick 11 mi · Midway 12 mi · Hurtsboro 19 mi · Tuskegee 19 mi · Franklin 22 mi · Clayton 23 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 Union Springs (32.1395, -85.7146); 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.