National Bee Pest Surveillance Program: Transition program (MT21008)

What was it all about?

This investment delivered a nationally-coordinated surveillance program that strengthened Australia’s early warning system for honey bee pests that threaten crop pollination and production.

The project team delivered risk‑based surveillance at high‑risk ports across Australia and confirmed the value of this approach through the early detection of serious pests, including the first detection of Varroa destructor near the Port of Newcastle in 2022. While eradication was not successful, this detection demonstrated that sentinel hive surveillance works and provides critical lead time to respond to biosecurity threats that affect growers reliant on pollination.

From 2021 to 2025, state and territory governments carried out regular surveillance at 19 ports using sentinel hives, swarm capture, catch boxes and other monitoring tools. More than 45,000 surveillance records were collected and uploaded to the national AUSPestCheck® system, ensuring consistent data to support national biosecurity decision‑making. The project also delivered practical communication outputs, including more than 40 industry and community articles and an annual NBPSP infographic to raise awareness of bee pests and the importance of early detection.

The project addressed the ongoing risk of exotic and regionalised honey bee pests entering Australia via ports and spreading quickly through hive movement and pollination services. These pests pose a serious threat to honey bee health and to horticulture industries that depend on pollination.

As a result of this work, growers and pollination‑reliant industries benefit from continued surveillance at high‑risk entry points, improved national coordination, and clearer information about bee pest risks. The project’s findings will inform future surveillance, increased virus testing, and more targeted grower communications to help protect pollination services and long‑term industry productivity.