community in Texas

Honey bee forage in Las Lomas, Texas

Estimated forage here is better than about 50% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it ranks highest in fall (43rd percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sorghum (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.6 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.8 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years).

When is the honey flow in Las Lomas?

  • First forage: Jan 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
  • Main flow: Jan 1 to May 15, peaking early Feb (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 (cotton, garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red)
  • Season ends: Dec 31
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Las Lomas, 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, cotton, dandelion; 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, cotton, garden flowers; 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

  • Sorghum: about 380 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Apr – early May (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
  • Cotton: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
  • Sunflower: about 203 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms late Mar – late May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
  • Canola: about 148 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms early Mar – late Apr (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 Las Lomas

Mostly: Unmapped; Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub; Tamaulipan Savanna Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.58 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.82 mi W.

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 Las Lomas ranks

Against random land inOverallSpringSummerFall
Continental US51st62nd15th36th
Texas50th35th30th43rd
Southern Texas Plains92nd88th95th73rd

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

About 48% 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 Las Lomas: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.

Nearby

Santa Cruz 1 mi · Santa Rosa 1 mi · El Chaparral 1 mi · Garza-Salinas II 1 mi · B and E 1 mi · El Mesquite 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 Las Lomas (26.3638, -98.7746); 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.