Honey bee forage in Galestown, Maryland

When is the honey flow in Galestown?

• First forage: Feb 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31, peaking late Jun (soybeans)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Galestown, 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 Apr 14.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): soybeans, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): soybeans, watermelons, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): watermelons, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): soybeans, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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 175 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 917 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – late Jul (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 Galestown

Mostly: Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Riparian and Floodplain Forest; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Hardwood Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.22 mi E; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.26 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% 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 Galestown ranks

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

About 43% 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

Sharptown 2 mi · Brookview 4 mi · Eldorado 4 mi · Mardela Springs 8 mi · Vienna 8 mi · Hurlock 9 mi

All towns in Maryland · 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 Galestown (38.5626, -75.7158); 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.