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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 26.3399, -98.6360

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it ranks highest in spring (49th percentile) and lowest in summer (25th). Expect a dearth from early Jul to early Dec. Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 3.1 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.8 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 2.9 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.18 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 12th, fall 23rd)
  • Texas: 77th percentile (spring 49th, summer 25th, fall 27th)
  • Southern Texas Plains: 98th percentile (spring 95th, summer 92nd, fall 13th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jan 1 to Apr 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Dearth: Jul 1 to Dec 15
  • Fall flow: May 1 to May 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms late Mar – late May
  • Sunflower: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms late Mar – late May
  • Sorghum: about 287 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Cotton: about 598 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 573 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 301 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms early Apr – early May

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, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Rabbitbrush, Cotton; 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, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.
  • 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.