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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 26.3241, -98.4442

Estimated forage here is better than about 100% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (21st). Expect a dearth from late Jul to early Dec. Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.66 mi SW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 95th, summer 20th, fall 17th)
  • Texas: 100th percentile (spring 95th, summer 40th, fall 21st)
  • Southern Texas Plains: 100th percentile (spring 99th, summer 98th, fall 7th)

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 May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Sunflower
  • Dearth: Jul 16 to Dec 15
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 564 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late Mar – late May
  • Sorghum: about 544 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 167 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 947 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Cotton: about 147 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 179 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Apr – early May

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 54% 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.