Honey bee forage in Carthage, North Carolina

When is the honey flow in Carthage?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Carthage, 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 Mar 24.

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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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): 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

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 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun (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 Carthage

Mostly: Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.19 mi E; pond, lake or river 0.24 mi SW.

How Carthage ranks

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

About 73% 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

Whispering Pines 6 mi · Vass 9 mi · Taylortown 9 mi · Southern Pines 9 mi · Cameron 9 mi · Pinehurst 10 mi

All towns in North Carolina · 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 Carthage (35.3223, -79.4109); 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.