Honey bee forage in Lake Arrowhead, Wisconsin

When is the honey flow in Lake Arrowhead?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Lake Arrowhead, 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 14.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs; 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); light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers; 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

• Dry beans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sweet corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late Jul – 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 Lake Arrowhead

Mostly: Open water; Northeastern North American Temperate Forest Plantation; Laurentian Pine Barrens.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.26 mi NE; open water 0.28 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024); 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 Lake Arrowhead ranks

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

About 54% 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

Lake Sherwood 3 mi · Lake Camelot 4 mi · Ceex Haci 8 mi · Nekoosa 8 mi · Port Edwards 11 mi · Arkdale 12 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 Lake Arrowhead (44.2036, -89.8446); 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.