Honey bee forage in Orangeburg, South Carolina

When is the honey flow in Orangeburg?

• First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Orangeburg, 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 6.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, summer-flowering shrubs; 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 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jun (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 215 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late Jun (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 Orangeburg

Mostly: Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns); Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Southeastern Native Ruderal Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.07 mi NW; pond, lake or river 0.45 mi SW.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 83% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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 Orangeburg ranks

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

Nearby

Edisto 2 mi · Wilkinson Heights 2 mi · Brookdale 2 mi · Cordova 5 mi · Rowesville 9 mi · Cameron 10 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 Orangeburg (33.4936, -80.8669); 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.