Honey bee forage in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania

When is the honey flow in Blue Ridge Summit?

• First forage: Feb 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Blue Ridge Summit, 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 28.

What the honey is made of

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

• Soybeans: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Apples: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi W, 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 Blue Ridge Summit

Mostly: Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Central Appalachian Dry Oak Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.09 mi NE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.2 mi N.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024); 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 Blue Ridge Summit ranks

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

About 68% 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

Pen Mar 3 mi · Rouzerville 3 mi · Wayne Heights 4 mi · Carroll Valley 5 mi · Waynesboro 6 mi · Fairfield 7 mi

All towns in Pennsylvania · 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 Blue Ridge Summit (39.7256, -77.4688); 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.