Honey bee forage in Lucedale, Mississippi

When is the honey flow in Lucedale?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30, peaking late Feb (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Lucedale, 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 25.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs; 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

• Cotton: about 80 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Watermelons: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NE, blooms early Apr – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Millet: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms late Apr – late May (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 Lucedale

Mostly: Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.09 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.1 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% 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 Lucedale 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

Agricola 9 mi · Benndale 13 mi · Leaf 14 mi · Leakesville 15 mi · McLain 18 mi · Hurley 19 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 Lucedale (30.9312, -88.5959); 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.