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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.

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 26.3483, -98.7506

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in spring (59th percentile) and lowest in summer (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.11 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 77th, summer 17th, fall 38th)
  • Texas: 67th percentile (spring 59th, summer 34th, fall 45th)
  • Southern Texas Plains: 96th percentile (spring 97th, summer 96th, fall 78th)

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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to May 31 — Sunflower, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jun 30 — Cotton
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 203 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Mar – late May
  • Canola: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Mar – late Apr
  • Cotton: about 378 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 136 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 380 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Sunflower, Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Garden flowers, 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): Sunflower, Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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.