Honey bee forage in Ben Arnold, Texas

When is the honey flow in Ben Arnold?

• First forage: Jan 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 31, peaking early Mar (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Jul 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Ben Arnold, 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 25.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, cotton; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Corn: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 174 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug (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 Ben Arnold

Mostly: Western Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Southeastern Ruderal Grassland; Corn.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.06 mi E; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.14 mi SW.

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 Ben Arnold ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 64% 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.

Nearby

Burlington 4 mi · Cameron 6 mi · Rosebud 9 mi · Buckholts 11 mi · Rogers 16 mi · Calvert 17 mi

All towns in Texas · National map · How the scoring works

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 Ben Arnold (30.9512, -96.9643); 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.