Honey bee forage in Cottageville, South Carolina

When is the honey flow in Cottageville?

• First forage: Jan 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Fall flow: May 16 to May 31 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cottageville, 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 Mar 1.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), 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 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cucumbers: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Aug (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 Cottageville

Mostly: Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.22 mi SE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.36 mi E.

Things to watch

• 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 Cottageville 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

Jacksonboro 11 mi · Walterboro 12 mi · Grover 14 mi · Ridgeville 14 mi · Adams Run 17 mi · Summerville 18 mi

All towns in South Carolina · 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 Cottageville (32.9362, -80.4803); 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.