Honey bee forage in Houlton, Maine

When is the honey flow in Houlton?

• First forage: Mar 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Houlton, 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 27.

What the honey is made of

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

• Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Mustard: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Clover and wildflowers: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi W, blooms late May – late Oct (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep (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 Houlton

Mostly: Unmapped; Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest; Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.19 mi SE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.28 mi E.

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.

How Houlton 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

Oakfield 15 mi · Island Falls 22 mi · Blaine 26 mi · Mars Hill 28 mi · Patten 30 mi · Danforth 32 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 Houlton (46.1214, -67.8322); 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.