Honey bee forage in Normandy, Texas

When is the honey flow in Normandy?

• First forage: Jan 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Jan 16 to Jun 15, peaking late Feb (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 (cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Normandy, 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 16.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers, rabbitbrush; amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), 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

• Sunflower: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Apr – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late May (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 Normandy

Mostly: Unmapped; Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub; Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.08 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.18 mi S.

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 Normandy ranks

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

About 63% 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

Quemado 3 mi · Radar Base 5 mi · Elm Creek 11 mi · Siesta Acres 12 mi · Seco Mines 12 mi · Fabrica 13 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 Normandy (28.9099, -100.598); 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.