Honey bee forage in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania

When is the honey flow in Summit Hill?

• First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30, peaking early May (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs)
• Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 (summer-flowering shrubs, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Summit Hill, 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 8.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), dandelion; 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): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; 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 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 2 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 Summit Hill

Mostly: Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Central Appalachian Dry Oak Forest; Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.07 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.13 mi E.

How Summit Hill ranks

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

About 80% 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

Lansford 2 mi · Coaldale 4 mi · Nesquehoning 4 mi · Jim Thorpe 4 mi · Tamaqua 4 mi · Lehighton 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 Summit Hill (40.825, -75.8462); 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.