Honey bee forage in Essex, Massachusetts

When is the honey flow in Essex?

• 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 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Essex, 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), dandelion; 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

• Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Sweet corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – 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 Essex

Mostly: Open water; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Tidal Salt Marsh; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Hardwood Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.05 mi NE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.1 mi E.

How Essex ranks

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

About 69% 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

Ipswich 4 mi · Gloucester 4 mi · Beverly 7 mi · Rowley 7 mi · Rockport 8 mi · Topsfield 9 mi

All towns in Massachusetts · 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 Essex (42.6405, -70.7712); 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.