Honey bee forage in Cross Hill, South Carolina

When is the honey flow in Cross Hill?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31, peaking late Mar (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Season ends: Aug 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cross 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 Mar 18.

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), dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), dandelion; 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 1.8 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jun (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late 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 Cross Hill

Mostly: Southeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Pine Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.15 mi NE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.23 mi E.

How Cross Hill ranks

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

About 86% 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

Mountville 5 mi · Waterloo 6 mi · Coronaca 8 mi · Ninety Six 10 mi · Greenwood 12 mi · Cokesbury 13 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 Cross Hill (34.3045, -81.9836); 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.