Honey bee forage in St. Leonard, Maryland

When is the honey flow in St. Leonard?

• First forage: Feb 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of St. Leonard, 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 12.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra 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), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra 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 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late May – 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 St. Leonard

Mostly: Open water; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Hardwood Forest; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest.

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

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% 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 St. Leonard ranks

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

About 70% 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

Calvert Beach 1 mi · Long Beach 1 mi · Broomes Island 5 mi · Prince Frederick 7 mi · Lusby 8 mi · Chesapeake Ranch Estates 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 St. Leonard (38.4674, -76.4986); 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.