town in Texas
Honey bee forage in Rule, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (12th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.3 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Rule?
- First forage: Jan 16 (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 15 (cotton)
- Season ends: Aug 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Rule, 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 15.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton; 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 141 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – 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 Rule
Mostly: Winter Wheat; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Shrubland; Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland.
Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.15 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.37 mi NE.
Things to watch
- Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 38% 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 Rule ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 59th | 70th | 56th | 8th |
| Texas | 63rd | 46th | 90th | 12th |
| Central Great Plains | 63rd | 83rd | 40th | 11th |
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 Rule: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Rochester 9 mi · Haskell 9 mi · O'Brien 14 mi · Weinert 16 mi · Knox City 17 mi · Aspermont 19 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 Rule (33.1819, -99.8933); 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.