Honey bee forage in Gray, Georgia

When is the honey flow in Gray?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Season ends: Aug 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Gray, 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 8.

What the honey is made of

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

• Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi NW, blooms early Mar – early Aug (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 Gray

Mostly: Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.15 mi N; pond, lake or river 0.21 mi W.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 63% 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 Gray ranks

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

About 56% 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

Gordon 14 mi · Ivey 15 mi · Bolingbroke 16 mi · Hardwick 17 mi · Juliette 17 mi · Milledgeville 18 mi

All towns in Georgia · 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 Gray (33.002, -83.5409); 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.