Honey bee forage in Aucilla, Florida

When is the honey flow in Aucilla?

• First forage: Jan 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 15, peaking late Feb (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs)
• Dearth: Jul 16 to Dec 15
• Fall flow: May 1 to May 15 (summer-flowering shrubs, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Aucilla, 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 21.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers; amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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

• Corn: about 90 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms early Apr – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul (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 Aucilla

Mostly: Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; pond, lake or river 0.06 mi E.

Things to watch

• 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 Aucilla ranks

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

About 90% 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

Lamont 7 mi · Greenville 7 mi · Monticello 8 mi · Waukeenah 14 mi · Lloyd 16 mi · Wacissa 17 mi

All towns in Florida · 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 Aucilla (30.477, -83.7604); 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.