Honey bee forage in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania

When is the honey flow in Marcus Hook?

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

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Marcus Hook, 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 19.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, dandelion, soybeans; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, 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, soybeans; 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 186 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 132 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 3 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 Marcus Hook

Mostly: Open water; Developed, low intensity (houses and yards); Developed, medium intensity.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.25 mi SE; open water 0.25 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 65% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% 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 Marcus Hook ranks

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

Nearby

Trainer 1 mi · Linwood 1 mi · Boothwyn 2 mi · Chester 3 mi · Village Green-Green Ridge 4 mi · Upland 4 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 Marcus Hook (39.8129, -75.4162); 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.