Honey bee forage in Eccles, West Virginia

When is the honey flow in Eccles?

• First forage: Feb 16 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 15, peaking late Apr (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden))
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Eccles, 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 Apr 25.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, 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, summer-flowering shrubs, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): early trees (maple, willow, poplar), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Grapes: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun

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 Eccles

Mostly: Southern Appalachian Oak Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.02 mi N; pond, lake or river 0.08 mi W.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% 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 Eccles ranks

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

About 75% 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

Mabscott 3 mi · Crab Orchard 3 mi · Glen White 4 mi · Lester 4 mi · MacArthur 4 mi · Sprague 5 mi

All towns in West Virginia · 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 Eccles (37.782, -81.2641); 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.