community in Texas
Honey bee forage in Sylvester, Texas
Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in Texas. Against other Texas sites it stands out most in summer (92nd percentile) and lowest in fall (10th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Sylvester?
- First forage: Jan 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
- Main flow: Feb 16 to Aug 15, peaking early Jul (cotton, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Season ends: Aug 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Sylvester, 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): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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): 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, 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 818 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
- Sorghum: about 189 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jun (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 Sylvester
Mostly: Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Shrubland; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Western Great Plains Mesquite Shrubland.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.15 mi E; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.3 mi N.
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 Sylvester ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 66th | 72nd | 64th | 6th |
| Texas | 72nd | 47th | 92nd | 10th |
| Central Great Plains | 71st | 84th | 49th | 8th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 37% 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 Sylvester: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
McCaulley 5 mi · Roby 8 mi · Hamlin 13 mi · Rotan 15 mi · Trent 18 mi · Sweetwater 20 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 Sylvester (32.7229, -100.2499); 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.