Honey bee forage in La Paloma Ranchettes, Texas

When is the honey flow in La Paloma Ranchettes?

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

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of La Paloma Ranchettes, 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 4.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, cotton, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), rabbitbrush; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), rabbitbrush; amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers; 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 648 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms early Apr – early May (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 98 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms early Apr – early May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sunflower: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late Mar – late May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 434 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, 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 La Paloma Ranchettes

Mostly: Western Warm Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.23 mi SE; open water 0.27 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% 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 La Paloma Ranchettes ranks

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

About 68% 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

Mikes 1 mi · Zarate 1 mi · E. Lopez 1 mi · Alto Bonito Heights 1 mi · East Alto Bonito 1 mi · Rivereno 1 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 La Paloma Ranchettes (26.3148, -98.623); 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.