city in Texas
Honey bee forage in Sundown, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (91st percentile) and lowest in fall (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Sundown?
- First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Main flow: Mar 16 to May 15, peaking late Mar (clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), dandelion)
- Fall flow: Jun 1 to Aug 31 (cotton)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Sundown, 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 24.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), summer-flowering shrubs; 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), green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush; amber
- Whole season (March to November): cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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 264 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 4 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 Sundown
Mostly: Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland; Western Great Plains Sandhill Steppe; Cotton.
Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.32 mi SW; open water 0.47 mi E.
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 Sundown ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 73rd | 88th | 60th | 19th |
| Texas | 81st | 82nd | 91st | 22nd |
| High Plains | 92nd | 99th | 40th | 16th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 50% 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 Sundown: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Levelland 11 mi · Whiteface 12 mi · Opdyke West 14 mi · Meadow 18 mi · Ropesville 20 mi · Smyer 21 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 Sundown (33.4575, -102.4908); 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.