Honey bee forage in Brunswick, Maine

When is the honey flow in Brunswick?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Brunswick, 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 20.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra 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

• Blueberries: about 81 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun

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 Brunswick

Mostly: Open water; Laurentian-Acadian Pine-Hemlock-Hardwood Forest; Laurentian-Acadian Pine-Hemlock Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.08 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.17 mi W.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 55% 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. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% 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 Brunswick ranks

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

About 49% 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

Topsham 4 mi · Bath 6 mi · Freeport 8 mi · Bowdoinham 9 mi · Lisbon Falls 10 mi · Littlejohn Island 13 mi

All towns in Maine · 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 Brunswick (43.8875, -69.9426); 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.