village in New York
Honey bee forage in Wolcott, New York
Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: apples (nearest 0.5 mi NW); corn (nearest 0.7 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Wolcott?
- First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
- Main flow: May 1 to May 31, peaking early May (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), apples, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 (clovers: white, alsike and red, soybeans, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Wolcott, 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 11.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, apples; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): soybeans, clovers: white, alsike and red, alfalfa, summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Fall honey (September 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
- Whole season (March to November): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, 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
- Apples: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early May – late 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 Wolcott
Mostly: Laurentian-Acadian Northern Hardwoods Forest; Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest; Northern & Central Native Ruderal Forest.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.09 mi NW; open water 0.09 mi NW.
Things to watch
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% 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 Wolcott ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 76th | 87th | 70th | 51st |
| New York | 90th | 98th | 71st | 43rd |
| Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands | 74th | 97th | 39th | 22nd |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 60% 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.
The national forage map around Wolcott: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
North Rose 4 mi · Red Creek 5 mi · Fair Haven 9 mi · Sodus Point 10 mi · Clyde 10 mi · Savannah 11 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 Wolcott (43.2228, -76.8121); 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.