Our Vision
We are proud to be part of the worldwide effort to raise awareness of the threats currently facing honeybee populations, as well as providing means to protect this extremely important insect species. Honey bee colonies are currently under threat from disease, indiscriminate use of pesticides and herbicides and the development of monoculture foraging environments. Humans rely on honeybees to pollinate approximately one third of all the food we consume; therefore maintaining healthy honeybee populations is critical for our own survival. We support local honeybee populations within the Northern suburbs of Melbourne through education and mentoring, as well as installing and managing backyard hives.
Urban Beekeeping
Honey bees thrive within urban environments, which typically contain both an abundance and variety of flowers to forage on year-round. Keeping a hive within your backyard not only encourages a productive garden, it is also an extremely rewarding hobby, that teaches an appreciation for pollinators within nature. The side benefit, of course, is that your hive produces your own uniquely flavoured raw honey.
About us
Somers Bees is the creation of bee-lovers Greg Somers and Carolyn Lott. Greg is an apiarist with a background in biomedical research and was a University lecturer in genetics. Carolyn is an innovative chef, who is passionate about food, sustainable living and food wastage reduction.
As soon as Greg and Carolyn began their beekeeping journey together, they were hooked. Greg and Carolyn not only install and support backyard beekeeping, but also offer advice on sustainable backyard practices, no matter the size.
Hive hosting and Inspection Services
We sell hive homes and bee colonies, both separately and together. We also offer hive hosting, for people who want bees but don't necessarily want to deal with the practical maintenance and management side of owning a hive. For an annual subscription, we conduct all inspections and maintenance necessary on the hive, while it is in your backyard. As the host of the hive, you receive the benefits of pollination as well as honey extracted from your hive. We also offer services including inspection assistance of personal hives, honey extraction, and requeening of hives.
Colony and Swarm Removal
We offer a prompt and professional service for the rescue and removal of feral and unwanted colonies and swarms. Rescued bees are rehomed into managed hives at one of our apiaries.
Beekeeping Workshops and Mentoring
We offer practical introductory beekeeping workshops, discussing all necessary concepts to get you started; including colony behaviour, equipment, beekeeping methods, inspection techniques, disease identification, regulatory compliance, swarm prevention, seasonal management, developing bee-friendly gardens, honey and wax harvesting. Personal one-on-one mentoring services on your own hive are also available.
Hive and Bee Products
Please contact us with your beekeeping and equipment needs. We build and sell fully assembled and painted 8-frame untreated pine hives, complete with ventilated Blue bees bottom boards for increased hygiene, attractive gabled roofs, and optional side windows. Assembled frames are embedded with 100% Australian beeswax foundation. We also sell locally produced raw honey and comb, and rendered wax.