Honey bee forage in Sister Bay, Wisconsin

When is the honey flow in Sister Bay?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, soybeans)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Sister Bay, 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 25.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, soybeans, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, soybeans; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), 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

• Corn: about 143 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Cherries: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early May – late May
• Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Jul – early 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 Sister Bay

Mostly: Open water; Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Laurentian-Acadian Alkaline Conifer-Hardwood Swamp.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.32 mi N; open water 0.32 mi N.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 54% 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. Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% 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 Sister Bay ranks

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

About 51% 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

Ephraim 2 mi · Ellison Bay 5 mi · Baileys Harbor 8 mi · Egg Harbor 13 mi · Marinette 25 mi · Sturgeon Bay 28 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 Sister Bay (45.1871, -87.1294); 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.