community in Texas
Honey bee forage in Alice Acres, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in spring (88th percentile) and lowest in fall (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sorghum (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); peas (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Alice Acres?
- First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Main flow: Apr 1 to May 15, peaking late Apr (sunflower, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Season ends: Jul 15
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Alice Acres, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Feb 8.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): sunflower, cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton, garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), rabbitbrush; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, rabbitbrush; amber
- Whole season (March to November): cotton, sunflower, clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.
Bee crops within flight range
- Sorghum: about 493 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Apr – early May (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
- Sunflower: about 61 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms early Apr – late May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
- Peas: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Feb – late Mar (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
- Cotton: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.
The land and water around Alice Acres
Mostly: Western Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub; Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Woodland.
Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.31 mi W; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.43 mi W.
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.
How Alice Acres ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 63rd | 91st | 18th | 12th |
| Texas | 69th | 88th | 36th | 16th |
| Western Gulf Coastal Plain | 40th | 84th | 42nd | 34th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 48% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.
The national forage map around Alice Acres: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Coyote Acres 2 mi · Rancho Alegre 2 mi · Ben Bolt 3 mi · Alice 4 mi · Loma Linda East 6 mi · San Diego 9 mi
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. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Alice Acres (27.7119, -98.108); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.