How Bees Make Wax
It all begins on a flower in a field. Bees collect nectar from flowers and
bring it to the hive where it becomes either beeswax or honey. A bee’s
diet consists primarily of honey, and any honey not consumed by the
bees or in the raising of brood is stored as surplus and is ultimately
consumed in the winter months when no flowers are available.
However, it is honey’s other use that interests us, its conversion into
beeswax.
The production of beeswax is essential to the bee colony. It is used
to construct the combs in which the bees raise their brood and into
which they store pollen and surplus honey for the winter.
Worker bees, which live only around 35 days in the summer, develop
special wax-producing glands on their abdomens (inner sides of the
sternites of abdominal segments 4 to 7) and are most efficient at
wax production during the 10th through the 16th days of their lives.
From about day 18 until the end of its life, a bee’s wax glands steadily
decline. Bees consume honey (6-8 pound of honey are need to
produce a pound of wax) causing the special wax-producing glands
to covert the sugar into wax which is extruded through small pores.
The wax appears as small flakes on the bees’ abdomen.
At this point the flakes are essentially transparent and
only become white after being chewed. It is in the
mastication process that salivary secretions are
added to the wax to help soften it. This also
accounts for its change in color.
The exact process of how a bee transfers
the wax scales from its abdomen to its
mandibles was a mystery for years. It’s now
understood to be processed in either of two
ways. Most of the activities in the hive are
cooperative so it should be no surprise that
other worker bees are willing to remove the
wax scales from their neighbors and then
chew them. The other method is for the
same bee extruding the wax to process
her own wax scales. This is done using one
hind leg to move a wax scale to the first
pair of legs (forelegs). A foreleg then makes
the final transfer to the mandibles where it
is masticated, and then applied to the comb
being constructed or repaired.
Beeswax becomes soft and very pliable if the
temperature is too high (it actually melts at 149 F).
Likewise, it becomes brittle and difficult to manage
if the temperature is too low. However, honeybees
maintain their hive at a temperature of around 95 degrees
Fahrenheit, which is perfect for the manipulation of beeswax,
not too hot to be drippy and not too cold to be brittle.
A honeycomb constructed from beeswax is nothing short of a triumph
of engineering. It consists of hexagon shaped cylinders (six-sided)
that fit naturally side-by-side. It has been proven by mathematicians
that making the cells into hexagons is the most efficient shape. The
smallest possible amount of wax is used to contain the highest volume
of honey. It has also been shown to be one of the strongest possible
shapes while using the least amount of material.
The color of beeswax comprising a comb is at first white and then
darkens with age and use. This is especially true if it is used to raise
brood. Pigmentation in the wax can result in colors ranging from
white, through shades of yellow, orange, and red all the way to brown.
The color has no significance as to the quality of the wax (other than
its aesthetic appeal). Formerly, wax was bleached using ionization,
sulphuric acid, or hydrogen peroxide which resulted in the inclusion of
toxic compounds. Bleaching has now been abandoned by reputable
candle manufacturers and other suppliers of beeswax.
If beeswax has a medicinal smell, chances are that it has been
chemically altered or bleached. Here at Beeswax Co. LLC, we only
use North American beeswax that is 100% pure... definitely not
chemically processed. Smell one of our candles for proof of its purity!
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