town in Texas
Honey bee forage in Plains, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 61% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in spring (79th percentile) and lowest in fall (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Plains?
- First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Main flow: Mar 16 to May 15, peaking late Mar (summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
- Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 (cotton)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Plains, 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 22.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; white, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers; 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): summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; white, 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 531 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 3 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 Plains
Mostly: Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland; Western Great Plains Sandhill Steppe; Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.11 mi NE; open water 0.11 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 Plains ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 57th | 86th | 33rd | 21st |
| Texas | 61st | 79th | 75th | 24th |
| High Plains | 79th | 99th | 10th | 17th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 65% 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 Plains: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Denver City 15 mi · Seagraves 23 mi · Wellman 25 mi · Sundown 27 mi · Loop 30 mi · Whiteface 31 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 Plains (33.1883, -102.8215); 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.