Honey bee forage in Cross Timbers, Missouri

When is the honey flow in Cross Timbers?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cross Timbers, 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 12.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers; 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), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber, likely to set over some months

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 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Millet: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug (grown 2 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 Cross Timbers

Mostly: Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland; Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.12 mi SW; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.39 mi NE.

How Cross Timbers ranks

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

About 83% 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

Preston 6 mi · Hermitage 8 mi · Wheatland 11 mi · Climax Springs 11 mi · Urbana 13 mi · Macks Creek 15 mi

All towns in Missouri · 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 Cross Timbers (38.0243, -93.2294); 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.