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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 26.0743, -97.4464

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in fall (70th percentile) and lowest in spring (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 28th, fall 56th)
  • Texas: 75th percentile (spring 50th, summer 66th, fall 70th)
  • Western Gulf Coastal Plain: 47th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 72nd, fall 77th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Texas, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jan 16 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Cotton, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 214 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 339 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 140 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Cotton: about 74 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 173 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Apr – early May

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Citrus; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: grapefruit: insecticides used on about 63% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: lemons: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: tangerines: insecticides used on about 82% 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.

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. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.