Honey bee forage in Gladstone, Michigan

When is the honey flow in Gladstone?

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

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Gladstone, 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 28.

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, garden flowers, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs; 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

• Clover and wildflowers: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi W, blooms late May – late Oct (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Dry beans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi SW, blooms early Aug – late Sep (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 Gladstone

Mostly: Open water; Laurentian-Acadian Alkaline Conifer-Hardwood Swamp; Laurentian-Acadian Sub-boreal Mesic Balsam Fir-Spruce Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.17 mi N; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.33 mi N.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 67% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

How Gladstone ranks

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

About 38% 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

Rapid River 6 mi · Escanaba 8 mi · Rock 16 mi · Garden 23 mi · Powers 27 mi · Hermansville 30 mi

All towns in Michigan · 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 Gladstone (45.8505, -87.0262); 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.