Honey bee forage in Cloverdale, Mississippi

When is the honey flow in Cloverdale?

• First forage: Jan 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15, peaking early Mar (summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs)
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans, summer-flowering shrubs)
• Season ends: Sep 30

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

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red; white, 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), garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red; 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

• Soybeans: about 1,061 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late Jun (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 142 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug (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 Cloverdale

Mostly: Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi W; pond, lake or river 0.08 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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 Cloverdale ranks

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

About 77% 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

Natchez 4 mi · Morgantown 7 mi · Roxie 20 mi · Fayette 26 mi · Crosby 26 mi · Woodville 28 mi

All towns in Mississippi · 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 Cloverdale (31.4959, -91.4152); 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.