Honey bee forage in Manahawkin, New Jersey

When is the honey flow in Manahawkin?

• First forage: Feb 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 15, peaking late Apr (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 (summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

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

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; 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), summer-flowering shrubs; 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

• Blueberries: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
• Apples: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early May

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 Manahawkin

Mostly: Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Tidal Salt Marsh; Open water; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Pitch Pine Barrens.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. 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 Manahawkin ranks

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

About 59% 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

Beach Haven West 1 mi · Ocean Acres 4 mi · Surf City 4 mi · Ship Bottom 4 mi · Barnegat 5 mi · Harvey Cedars 5 mi

All towns in New Jersey · 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 Manahawkin (39.6899, -74.2427); 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.