Honey bee forage in Laurel, New York

When is the honey flow in Laurel?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Laurel, 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 May 6.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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

• Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Popcorn and ornamental corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – late 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 Laurel

Mostly: Open water; Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Maritime Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.18 mi NW; pond, lake or river 0.26 mi N.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% 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 Laurel ranks

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

About 48% 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

Jamesport 2 mi · Mattituck 2 mi · Aquebogue 4 mi · Northville 4 mi · New Suffolk 4 mi · Cutchogue 5 mi

All towns in New York · 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 Laurel (40.9729, -72.5545); 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.