Four swarms of Asian bees found in Cairns have been cleared of carrying the dreaded Varroa destructor mite but the intruders themselves could pose the beginning of a serious threat to Australian honey bee populations.
Asian bees are known to have found their way into Australian ports at least half a dozen times in the last decade.
This time it's a Javanese strain of the bee and because the latest incursion had lain undiscovered for at least three months, it is unknown how many more swarms might exist and how far afield they may have flown.
Within a one kilometre radius from the first colony, disturbed in the mast of a yacht undergoing repairs after two years docked at a wharf in Cairns, three more swarms were found and the search widened.
Already operating under marginal circumstances, many of Australia's beekeepers can only afford a momentary sigh of relief.
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