Honey bee forage in Round Lake, Illinois

When is the honey flow in Round Lake?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, soybeans)
• Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Round 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 May 9.

What the honey is made of

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

• Soybeans: about 100 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 100 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 3 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 Round Lake

Mostly: Developed, low intensity (houses and yards); Developed, medium intensity; North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.02 mi N; pond, lake or river 0.03 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 57% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

How Round Lake ranks

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

About 34% 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

Round Lake Park 1 mi · Hainesville 2 mi · Long Lake 2 mi · Round Lake Heights 3 mi · Round Lake Beach 3 mi · Volo 3 mi

All towns in Illinois · 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 Round Lake (42.3432, -88.1021); 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.