Swarms of migrants? No swarms of bees?

It struck me today that swarms, in one form or another, are big news and little-to-no news at the moment.

First we have the wonders of the prime minister referring to the migrants attempting to enter the country illegally through the channel tunnel as 'swarms' and then my Friday Picador poem arrives in my email box and its 'Arial' by Carol Ann Duffy (a modern take on the 'Where the bee sucks, there suck I' by William Shakespeare) lamenting the fate of the modern bee. Yes, swarms are big or particularly non-existent in the news it seems.

I can almost guarantee that the news will hold reference to the the migrant 'swarm' but nothing about the plight of the bees. It seems that there is a degree of our very British knack of building a man up in order to shoot him down with the former and the question of how to deal with the migrant issue is, quite rightly, a burning one as well so this is rightly taking the headlines in one shape or another. The bees however are less appealing to the newspeople, they're focussed on the bigger pictures while the humble bee declines and the impact that this will have not only on the their own population but upon the resources of the world buzz off to the mid sections or wait for a slow news day to be pulled out and eulogised.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-33733722

If bees were bigger perhaps they would fair better. The horror of seeing a supposedly civilised man - a dentist - holding a 'trophy' in the shape of a lion rightly appals the world as we can censure the perpetrator. He is an individual, a face we can search out on Facebook, until he removes his page, journalists can print his picture, the internet can be abuzz with tales of his past deeds and present going to ground to avoid being hunted out. Yes, we can see this perpetrator of crimes against nature but we can't see those who perpetrate against the humble bee. These are multi faced, multinationals, and governments, faceless folk who continue to open the door to long term extinctions that, once beyond a certain point, cannot be easily reversed.

The plight of the Cecil is easy to publicise. He has a name, noble images and is a symbol of power for not only the people of Zim' but for everyone who has once seen a picture book or encountered a Disney film containing an image of The King of the Jungle. Yet I guess its a bit difficult to get quite so worked up about a small creature with a sting in its tail week after week. I'm passing no judgement. It is what it is and this is merely an observation. It may well be that the huge ramifications implicit in the demise of the bee is also too great for people to contemplate without some relief and taking their minds to the new will bring them back refreshed, renewed and ready to take up the angst of life without honey, or for that matter the comforting buzz in a flower garden some five years ago.