Honey bee forage in Babcock, Wisconsin

When is the honey flow in Babcock?

• First forage: Mar 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15, peaking late May (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 (summer-flowering shrubs, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Babcock, 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 15.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
• Fall honey (September to November): 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
• Whole season (March to November): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering shrubs, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

• Cranberries: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Jul
• Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms late Jul – 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 Babcock

Mostly: North-Central Interior and Appalachian Rich Swamp; North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland; North-Central Interior Floodplain Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.03 mi NE.

How Babcock 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

Ceex Haci 7 mi · Pittsville 10 mi · Nekoosa 10 mi · Port Edwards 13 mi · Vesper 14 mi · Lake Arrowhead 15 mi

All towns in Wisconsin · 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 Babcock (44.3044, -90.1076); 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.