Honey bee forage in Fanning Springs, Florida

When is the honey flow in Fanning Springs?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Jan 16 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 Fanning 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 Feb 16.

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): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, cotton; 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, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

• Cotton: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Watermelons: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Apr – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Peaches: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late Jan – early Feb

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 Fanning Springs

Mostly: Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Eastern Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.19 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.53 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024); Peaches: insecticides used on about 86% 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 Fanning Springs ranks

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

About 62% 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

Andrews 3 mi · Manatee Road 5 mi · Trenton 7 mi · Chiefland 8 mi · Bell 12 mi · Cross City 12 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 Fanning Springs (29.5881, -82.9251); 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.