city in Texas
Honey bee forage in Rotan, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (96th percentile) and lowest in fall (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Rotan?
- First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15, peaking early Jul (cotton)
- Season ends: Aug 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Rotan, 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 12.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, cotton, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): cotton; 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, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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 12,671 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – 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 Rotan
Mostly: Cotton; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Shrubland.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.41 mi W; pond, lake or river 0.77 mi S.
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 Rotan ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 82nd | 76th | 80th | 12th |
| Texas | 92nd | 55th | 96th | 16th |
| Central Great Plains | 85th | 87th | 70th | 15th |
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 Rotan: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Roby 9 mi · Sylvester 15 mi · McCaulley 16 mi · Hamlin 19 mi · Hermleigh 22 mi · Aspermont 24 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 Rotan (32.854, -100.4655); 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.