Honey bee forage in Plover, Wisconsin

When is the honey flow in Plover?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Plover, 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 17.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, black locust; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, alfalfa, garden flowers; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, dry Beans; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, alfalfa; 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

• Alfalfa: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 215 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Dry beans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Sep (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 Plover

Mostly: Developed, low intensity (houses and yards); Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns); North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.45 mi SE; pond, lake or river 0.58 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 82% 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. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% 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 Plover ranks

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

Nearby

Whiting 2 mi · Park Ridge 4 mi · Stevens Point 4 mi · Polonia 10 mi · Bancroft 11 mi · Amherst Junction 11 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 Plover (44.462, -89.538); 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.