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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 28.4356, -99.2362

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Texas. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Texas sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: sorghum (nearest 1.8 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.32 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 67th, summer 18th, fall 37th)
  • Texas: 71st percentile (spring 41st, summer 36th, fall 44th)
  • Southern Texas Plains: 96th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 97th, fall 77th)

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 16 to Apr 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sorghum: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Sorghum: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Sorghum: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Sorghum: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Sorghum: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Sorghum: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late May

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 67% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.