Honey bee forage in Santa Teresa, New Mexico

When is the honey flow in Santa Teresa?

• First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, native wildflowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31, peaking early Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, native wildflowers, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 (cotton, garden flowers, dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Santa Teresa, 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 Mar 8.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers, dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, rabbitbrush, garden flowers, dandelion; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): rabbitbrush, garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); dark amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers; 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

• Cotton: about 160 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul (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 Santa Teresa

Mostly: Chihuahuan Stabilized Coppice Dune and Sand Flat Scrub; Chihuahuan Creosotebush Desert Scrub; Developed, low intensity (houses and yards).

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.02 mi W; open water 0.82 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); 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 Santa Teresa ranks

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

About 77% 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

Sunland Park 5 mi · La Union 6 mi · Anthony 11 mi · Chamberino 11 mi · Berino 14 mi · La Mesa 18 mi

All towns in New Mexico · 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 Santa Teresa (31.8714, -106.6734); 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.