city in Texas
Honey bee forage in Memphis, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (92nd percentile) and lowest in fall (33rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.5 mi N).
When is the honey flow in Memphis?
- First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31, peaking late Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
- Fall flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 (cotton)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Memphis, 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 23.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
- Whole season (March to November): cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; 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 698 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, 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 Memphis
Mostly: Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Cotton.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.3 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.34 mi SW.
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 53% 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 Memphis ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 77th | 88th | 65th | 29th |
| Texas | 86th | 83rd | 92nd | 33rd |
| Southwestern Tablelands | 99th | 100th | 95th | 9th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 41% 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 Memphis: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Lakeview 10 mi · Hedley 12 mi · Estelline 14 mi · Quail 16 mi · Lelia Lake 18 mi · Wellington 21 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 Memphis (34.7267, -100.5417); 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.