community in Texas
Honey bee forage in Batesville, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 27% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (75th percentile) and lowest in fall (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Batesville?
- First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
- Main flow: Feb 1 to Jul 15, peaking late Apr (cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Batesville, 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 16.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, sunflower; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton, garden flowers, rabbitbrush; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): rabbitbrush, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; dark amber
- Whole season (March to November): cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, sunflower; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.
Bee crops within flight range
- Cotton: about 107 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
- Corn: about 259 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
- Sunflower: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Apr – early Jun (grown 1 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 Batesville
Mostly: Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub; Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub; Winter Wheat.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.14 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.34 mi W.
Things to watch
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Squash: insecticides used on about 71% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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 Batesville ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 32nd | 55th | 33rd | 16th |
| Texas | 27th | 27th | 75th | 19th |
| Southern Texas Plains | 83rd | 80th | 100th | 6th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 42% 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 Batesville: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
La Pryor 13 mi · Uvalde Estates 19 mi · Loma Grande 20 mi · Uvalde 20 mi · Amaya 21 mi · Crystal City 22 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 Batesville (28.9524, -99.6293); 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.