The latest issue of PHELosophies, a newsletter from the Plant Health and Environment Laboratory (PHEL), includes great stats and interesting finds from the 2024/25 high-risk site surveillance programme run nationwide.

The programme monitors post-border biosecurity risk pathways, looking for pests and diseases that might have arrived from overseas so that they are found early, allowing swift investigation and management of risk before any threats can get hold in the environment or community.

Some highlights by the numbers:

• 32 organisms were found in New Zealand for the first time.
• 974 submissions were received from the field team inspecting plants for unusual symptoms and bugs.
• 306 samples were specifically screened for one of our most unwanted, Xylella fastidiosa, which was not found.
• 1133 identifications of plants, bacteria, invertebrates, nematodes, fungi, and viruses have been made.

PHEL are part of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and here at KVH we work closely with the team, particularly on unusual symptom surveillance and diagnostics; and their entomologists have a key role in helping with identification of unusual insects reported to us.

You can read their newsletters on the MPI website here.