Honey bee forage in Raynham Center, Massachusetts

When is the honey flow in Raynham Center?

• First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Raynham Center, 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 6.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• 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, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), garden flowers; 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

• Apples: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms late Apr – early May
• Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Sweet corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 2 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 Raynham Center

Mostly: Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Hardwood Forest; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Peat Swamp; Developed, low intensity (houses and yards).

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.04 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.05 mi NW.

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.
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% 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 Raynham Center ranks

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

About 47% 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

Taunton 3 mi · Bridgewater Town 5 mi · Middleborough Center 7 mi · North Lakeville 7 mi · Norton Center 8 mi · Brockton 11 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 Raynham Center (41.9305, -71.0462); 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.