Honey bee forage in Dune Acres, Indiana

When is the honey flow in Dune Acres?

• First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Dune Acres, 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 4.

What the honey is made of

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

• Soybeans: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SW, 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 Dune Acres

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

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.15 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.19 mi S.

How Dune Acres 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

Porter 2 mi · Burns Harbor 3 mi · Chesterton 4 mi · Ogden Dunes 6 mi · Beverly Shores 6 mi · Portage 6 mi

All towns in Indiana · 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 Dune Acres (41.6518, -87.0888); 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.