Honey bee forage in Marianna, Arkansas

When is the honey flow in Marianna?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15, peaking late May (soybeans, cotton)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 (cotton)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Marianna, 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 22.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): soybeans, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, soybeans, garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): soybeans, cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Soybeans: about 6,953 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 2,619 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 404 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun (grown 2 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 Marianna

Mostly: Mississippi River High Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.11 mi SW; open water 0.11 mi N.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 59% 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 Marianna ranks

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

Nearby

Haynes 8 mi · Aubrey 8 mi · LaGrange 8 mi · Rondo 9 mi · Lexa 12 mi · Moro 13 mi

All towns in Arkansas · 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 Marianna (34.7736, -90.7675); 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.