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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 26.3103, -98.6376

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Texas. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Texas sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 1.7 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); watermelons (nearest 1.7 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.25 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 69th, summer 18th, fall 34th)
  • Texas: 76th percentile (spring 44th, summer 35th, fall 40th)
  • Southern Texas Plains: 98th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 97th, 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: May 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Cotton, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 987 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 473 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 184 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 179 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Cotton: about 218 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Watermelons: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms late Mar – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.