Honey bee forage in Rowley, Massachusetts

When is the honey flow in Rowley?

• First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 (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 Rowley, 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 11.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, 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), clovers: white, alsike and red, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), 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, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Pumpkins: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Oct (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sweet corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 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 Rowley

Mostly: Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Tidal Salt Marsh; North-Central Appalachian Acidic Swamp; Open water.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.04 mi E; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.13 mi S.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024); Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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 Rowley ranks

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

About 71% 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 · Newburyport 7 mi · Boxford 7 mi · Topsfield 7 mi · Essex 7 mi · Salisbury 8 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 Rowley (42.718, -70.8669); 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.