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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 30.8923, -102.8841

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (73rd percentile) and lowest in fall (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 3.6 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 3.6 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.29 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 31st, fall 38th)
  • Texas: 76th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 73rd, fall 45th)
  • Chihuahuan Deserts: 100th percentile (spring 96th, summer 97th, fall 29th)

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: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 15 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Apr – late Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Apr – late Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late Jun
  • Cotton: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Cotton: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 93% 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.