FROM the beginning of the nineteenth century onwards, as the colonial population of Australia continued to expand, European bee colonies were brought over from the British Isles to help boost what has since become a multi-million dollar honey industry. Unlike the native Australian bees, however, our insects are unable to collect nectar by vibrating their bodies, so the newcomers soon began stealing it from their homegrown competitors. Needless to say, this phenomenon dramatically affected the ability of the Australian bees to accumulate nectar in their own unique fashion, something that was further compounded by the fact that our larger bees attack their rivals and often force them off the plant altogether. More recently, insect populations were affected by the importation of bees infected with a blood-sucking parasite known as the varroa destructor mite.

But what if we were to transpose this disastrous state of affairs to the human sphere? We Europeans are suffering the effects of mass immigration, too, and perhaps we can use the example of these disparate creatures as a means of determining the root cause of our own catastrophe. Should we just blame the immigrants, who, like the imported bees, refuse to adopt the customs of their indigenous counterparts and who have brought with them a particular ‘strain’ that is unpopular with the original inhabitants, or should we point the finger at the nation-states of Europe for their own financial opportunism? Those of you obsessed with the effects of capitalism, rather than the sinister ‘bee-keepers’ themselves, might care to give it some thought.