Exercise Bee Prepared

August 22, 2018

Australian governments and the beekeeping industry are improving their readiness to respond to a detection of varroa mite (Varroa destructor) by taking part in Exercise Bee Prepared.

In this exercise program, PHA facilitates the delivery of workshops across the country, testing how to rapidly respond to a detection of this serious pest of honey bees.

Each state and territory government have, or will, host an Exercise Bee Prepared activity, in which departmental staff and beekeepers work together on a fictional scenario and develop a response strategy to cover the days immediately following a detection of varroa mite.

The response strategy developed during the exercise activities will be beneficial in the event of a real incursion, so helping Australia to ‘Bee Prepared’.

Working through the process acts to highlight ways in which to improve how Australia responds to exotic pest detections.

Since March 2018, Exercise Bee Prepared activities have been held in Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia,Tasmania and Western Australia, with an activity in the Northern Territory and for the Commonwealth to be delivered before the end of October 2018.

To wrap-up the exercise, a national meeting will assess what’s been learned and agree on a national approach.

If you’d like more information about Exercise Bee Prepared, please contact Stephen Dibley, Program Manager for Training and Biosecurity Preparedness at PHA.