OUR BEES

Herbert & Co honey bees are crop pollinators first and honey producers second. We only harvest our honey in small batches, when the season is bountiful and the crops our bees are pollinating are in full flower. We make sure plenty of honey is left for our bees to remain strong and healthy.

Our bees are European honey bees (Apis mellifera), a species of bee that was introduced to Australia with the European settlers, to produce honey, but also to pollinate the European crops they brought with them.

An estimated 65 per cent of agricultural and horticultural crops introduced to Australia following European settlement require external sources of pollination (e.g. insects, birds, winds or bats). Some of these crops are 100 per cent reliant on insect pollinators, such as honey bees. The number of honey bee hives required per crop depends on multiple factors.

What does this mean to you? Let’s think about it this way — one in every three mouthfuls of food depends on pollinators like the honey bee. At Herbert & Co, we are committed to building our hives and helping secure healthy crop production — for you, our bees and our planet.