Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 26.2262, -98.2455

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (56th percentile) and lowest in spring (29th). Expect a dearth from early Oct to early Dec. Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 1.0 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); citrus (nearest 3.1 mi NW); sorghum (nearest 2.6 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.26 mi E. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 59th percentile (spring 57th, summer 25th, fall 41st)
  • Texas: 63rd percentile (spring 29th, summer 56th, fall 50th)
  • Western Gulf Coastal Plain: 37th percentile (spring 24th, summer 61st, fall 66th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jan 1 to Apr 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Dearth: Oct 1 to Dec 15
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Citrus: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi NW, blooms late Feb – early Apr
  • Cotton: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Citrus: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi E, blooms late Feb – early Apr
  • Cotton: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 99% 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. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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.
  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.