Honey bee forage in Henrietta, Texas

When is the honey flow in Henrietta?

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

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Henrietta, 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 19.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• 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, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

• Sorghum: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms late May – late Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late 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 Henrietta

Mostly: Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.24 mi E; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.31 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 52% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• 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 Henrietta ranks

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

About 62% 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

Jolly 10 mi · Dean 14 mi · Petrolia 14 mi · Ringgold 14 mi · Bellevue 16 mi · Byers 18 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 Henrietta (33.8143, -98.1928); 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.