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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 26.5703, -97.4422

Estimated forage here is better than about 20% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in fall (81st percentile) and lowest in spring (18th). Expect a dearth from early Jul to late Jul. Biggest nearby bee crops: sorghum (nearest 1.9 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 3.5 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 24th percentile (spring 45th, summer 10th, fall 65th)
  • Texas: 20th percentile (spring 18th, summer 20th, fall 81st)
  • Western Gulf Coastal Plain: 10th percentile (spring 11th, summer 10th, fall 83rd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Texas, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jan 1 to Apr 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers
  • Dearth: Jul 1 to Jul 31
  • Fall flow: May 16 to Oct 31 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sorghum: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Sorghum: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Cotton: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.