Honey bee forage in Bay Lake, Florida

When is the honey flow in Bay Lake?

• First forage: Jan 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Jan 1 to Apr 15, peaking early Feb (summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Dearth: Jul 1 to Jul 31
• Dearth: Oct 1 to Nov 30
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Bay Lake, 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 3.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): summer-flowering shrubs, 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): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, early trees (maple, willow, poplar); amber
• Whole season (March to November): summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), dandelion; 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

• Oranges: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi SW, blooms late Feb – late Apr
• Blueberries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms late Jan – late Feb
• Citrus: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi S, blooms late Feb – late Apr
• Watermelons: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi E, blooms late Mar – late Jul (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 Bay Lake

Mostly: Central Florida Pine Wet Flatwoods; Developed, medium intensity; Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns).

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.02 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.2 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% 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 Bay Lake ranks

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

About 65% 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

Lake Buena Vista 3 mi · Horizon West 4 mi · Celebration 6 mi · Four Corners 6 mi · Bay Hill 6 mi · Doctor Phillips 7 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 Bay Lake (28.3892, -81.5785); 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.