Honey bee forage in Ivanhoe, North Carolina

When is the honey flow in Ivanhoe?

• First forage: Jan 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 31, peaking late Mar (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs)
• Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jun 30 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans, summer-flowering shrubs)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Ivanhoe, 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 14.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs, soybeans; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs, soybeans; 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 244 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 283 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 241 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Blueberries: about 535 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Mar – late Mar

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 Ivanhoe

Mostly: Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin and Canebrake Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.11 mi S.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% 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 Ivanhoe ranks

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

About 86% 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

Atkinson 6 mi · Kelly 9 mi · Harrells 10 mi · White Lake 14 mi · East Arcadia 15 mi · Sandyfield 15 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 Ivanhoe (34.5836, -78.2517); 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.