Honey bee forage in Cross Creek, Pennsylvania

When is the honey flow in Cross Creek?

• First forage: Feb 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cross Creek, 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 29.

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, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months

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 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug (grown 5 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 Cross Creek

Mostly: Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.2 mi E; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.36 mi SE.

How Cross Creek ranks

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

About 82% 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

Atlasburg 2 mi · Langeloth 3 mi · Slovan 3 mi · Burgettstown 4 mi · Avella 5 mi · Joffre 5 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 Cross Creek (40.3264, -80.4091); 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.