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Honey bee forage in Estelline, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 64% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (91st percentile) and lowest in fall (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.2 mi S); sorghum (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Estelline?
- First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
- Main flow: Mar 16 to May 31, peaking late Mar (summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Fall flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 (cotton)
- Season ends: Sep 15
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Estelline, 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 Mar 22.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; white, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
- Whole season (March to November): cotton, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red; 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
- Cotton: about 234 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 5 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 Estelline
Mostly: Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Shrubland; Barren.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.45 mi NE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.63 mi E.
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 Estelline ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 59th | 72nd | 60th | 14th |
| Texas | 64th | 47th | 91st | 18th |
| Southwestern Tablelands | 96th | 89th | 92nd | 4th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 53% 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 Estelline: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Childress 12 mi · Memphis 14 mi · Lakeview 17 mi · Wellington 25 mi · Hedley 25 mi · Quail 26 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 Estelline (34.547, -100.4399); 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.