community in Texas
Honey bee forage in Oklaunion, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (91st percentile) and lowest in fall (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); camelina (nearest 1.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Oklaunion?
- First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
- Main flow: Mar 1 to Aug 31, peaking early Jul (cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Oklaunion, 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 20.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, cotton; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
- Whole season (March to November): cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
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 347 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug (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 Oklaunion
Mostly: Winter Wheat; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.17 mi W; pond, lake or river 0.25 mi SW.
Things to watch
- Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 48% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
- 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 Oklaunion ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 46th | 56th | 61st | 16th |
| Texas | 45th | 28th | 91st | 19th |
| Central Great Plains | 40th | 64th | 45th | 19th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
The national forage map around Oklaunion: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Harrold 8 mi · Vernon 9 mi · Lockett 14 mi · Electra 14 mi · Chillicothe 23 mi · Iowa Park 29 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 Oklaunion (34.1294, -99.1442); 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.