Honey bee forage in Bonifay, Florida

When is the honey flow in Bonifay?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30, peaking late Feb (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Bonifay, 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 24.

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

• Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early Apr – early Jun (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SE, 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 Bonifay

Mostly: Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Southeastern Ruderal Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.03 mi SW; pond, lake or river 0.16 mi SE.

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 Bonifay ranks

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

About 61% 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

Caryville 7 mi · Chipley 9 mi · Westville 9 mi · Vernon 12 mi · Wausau 12 mi · Esto 14 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 Bonifay (30.7813, -85.6888); 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.