Honey bee forage in Ulysses, Pennsylvania

When is the honey flow in Ulysses?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Ulysses, 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 18.

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, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, soybeans, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, pumpkins, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cucumbers: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Nov (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Pumpkins: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Nov (grown 1 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 Ulysses

Mostly: Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest; Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Appalachian (Hemlock)-Northern Hardwood Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.33 mi S; open water 0.33 mi S.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% of surveyed US acres (2024); Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% 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 Ulysses ranks

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

About 70% 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

Genesee 8 mi · Westfield 11 mi · Sabinsville 12 mi · Galeton 13 mi · Oswayo 14 mi · Sweden Valley 14 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 Ulysses (41.9031, -77.7548); 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.