New tool to strengthen bee surveillance

State and territory apiary and biosecurity officers recently came together to have their first look at a new tool to streamline the collection of bee pest surveillance data.

The Bee Surveillance Portal is an online application which has been developed to manage the data collected by the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program (NBPSP) field activities.

Over 20 officers were introduced to the Portal via a virtual training session, hosted by Plant Health Australia’s (PHA) Bee Pest Surveillance Coordinator, Dr Jenny Shanks, who led the development of the application.

The Bee Surveillance Portal streamlines the collection of bee pest surveillance data.

“The Portal provides an easy to follow workflow to enter surveillance data for at least nine different types of exotic bee pests,” said Dr Shanks.

“It also includes an interactive map showing key locations such as target ports, sentinel hives and catchboxes.”

“Using the Portal will improve the overall management of the NBPSP for all jurisdictions and the national coordinator, PHA, by providing a central online space for surveillance data to be collated.”

“While the application is only accessible by officers directly involved in the NBPSP, the data collated using the Portal will support Australia’s pest free status and reporting obligations nationally and internationally.”