Honey bee forage in Union Dale, Pennsylvania

When is the honey flow in Union Dale?

• First forage: Mar 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Union Dale, 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 19.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, spring-flowering shrubs; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs, dandelion, 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, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), 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, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs; 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 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep (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 Union Dale

Mostly: Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest; Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.08 mi E; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.09 mi E.

How Union Dale ranks

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

About 87% 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

Forest City 4 mi · Browndale 4 mi · Vandling 6 mi · Simpson 8 mi · Waymart 10 mi · Carbondale 10 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 Union Dale (41.713, -75.4832); 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.