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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 28.8919, -99.0975

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in spring (70th percentile) and lowest in fall (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.3 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); watermelons (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 1.3 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.6 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 29th, fall 28th)
  • Texas: 85th percentile (spring 70th, summer 68th, fall 32nd)
  • Southern Texas Plains: 99th percentile (spring 98th, summer 100th, fall 28th)

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 16 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: May 16 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Corn: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Corn: about 220 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Watermelons: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Apr – early Aug
  • Cotton: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Sorghum: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late Apr – late 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, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Cotton; 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 80% 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. Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024); 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.