Bees for Development Journal 121) September 2016

Bees make beeswaxBees build their comb,the physical structure oftheir nest, from beeswax.Beeswax is producedby all species of honeybees, with each specieshaving slightly differentphysical properties. Inthis Factsheet we aredescribing beeswaxfrom Apis melliferahoney bees.

Young worker bees secrete waxfrom their eight abdominal waxglands, and can produce eightscales of wax every 12 hours. Thesize of the wax glands dependson the age of the worker bee: theyare at their largest when the beeis 12-18 days old. Older workerbees can recover their ability toproduce wax if the colony needs it.

About one million wax scales areneeded to make one kilogramof wax - the amount needed fora small nest. Bees chew the wax,mixing it with salivary secretions,and when the wax is the rightconsistency, they use it for combconstruction or to seal honey cells.Bees are stimulated to producewax when there is a surplus ofhoney to be stored and a lack ofhoneycomb in which to store it.About eight kilograms of honeyare consumed by bees to produceone kilogram of wax.

Newly produced wax is clearwhite, but after manipulation bythe bees it soon turns pale yellow,as the wax takes up colouredcompounds from pollen andpropolis. If the wax is used only forhoney storage it will retain its lightcolour. The presence of pollen,propolis and other substancescause it to darken. Brood combdarkens with use because of thegradual build-up of the larvalcocoons spun inside the cellsduring pupation.

Beeswax provides the physical structure for the bees

Beeswax comb constructionThe beeswax comb providesstructure for the bees' nest andhas multiple functions. It is mostobviously used for storage ofhoney and pollen, for egg layingand raising brood. It forms anessential component of the honeybee colony. As well as providingthe physical structure of the nest,the comb has important biologicalfunctions concerning the colony'scommunication, memory andimmunity2. The comb may in someways be likened to the skeleton ofa mammal - it is an indispensablepart of the animal that is a honeybee colony superorganism.

Bees use their materials efficiently:the shape and dimensions of thecells in beeswax comb optimisethe ratio of size to strength. Thecells connecting the comb to thetop of the nesting place can carrymore than 1,300 times their weight.However, if the temperature insidethe nest exceeds 35°C, the waxwill begin to soften and melt;the combs will lose strength andmay collapse. Understandingthe properties of beeswax combbrings understanding of the greateffort that bees make to maintainnest temperature. If a hive issituated without shade, bees mustexpend more effort to keep thenest cool.

On the left, old beeswax comb that is darkened from the cocoons of manygenerations of pupating larvae. Newer comb on the right.

Bees for Development Journai 120 September 2016

Newly secreted wax scales -sometimes visible on the hive floor.

Comb functions andcommunicationsBeeswax comb holds chemicalmemories for the bees: their familyand nest odour, and the historyof each cell's use. The cuticularwax covering bees' bodies sharescompounds with the comb wax,resulting in the unique colony-specific identity that allows guardbees to distinguish strangers.Foragers leave temporarychemical markers on the areas ofcomb where they dance, informingother bees about the food sourcethey have found.

Propolis has antibacterial andantifungal properties, and is storedaround the nest walls for use whennecessary, and is used to line therim of each brood nest cell.

The bees use comb tocommunicate between themselves.The rims of cells of cavity-nestingbees are slightly thickened,creating a network of thickerwax, mixed with propolis,resting on thin cell walls. This iseasily displaced by vibrations,transmitting signals along rows ofcells. The bees use this mechanismto communicate in the darkness ofthe nest. The comb must be keptunder 35°C or the wax will deformrather than transmit. Foragersvibrate the cell rims with theirlegs to alert other bees to theirdancing to share information aboutthe locations of nectar and pollensources. Vibrations travel along thecomb surface to free edges whichcan expand and contract: where

Discs of rendered beeswax, ready for trade. New wax is colourless - itbecomes yellow as it takes up pigment from pollen.

the comb is attached to a frame orwall this vibration is restricted.

QualityBeeswax is a very stablesubstance, resistant to naturaloxidation and insoluble in water.It is a complex material witha characteristic odour mainlyderived from the bees themselvesand honey, pollen or propolis. Waxis solid at room temperature andbecomes brittle below 18°C. It issoft and pliable around 35-40°C,and melts at 64.5°C.

Beeswax can be any shade ofyellow, orange and red throughto brown. Colour does not affectthe quality of the wax, unless itis dark from over-heating, whenits value is much reduced. Thefinest beeswax is considered tobe from wax cappings (the waxseal with which bees cover ripehoneycombs) because it is pureand white. The use of bleach(sulphuric acid or hydrogenperoxide) is unnecessary anddamaging to natural wax.

Contamination causes the mainreduction in beeswax quality,primarily from residues ofdrugs introduced into honeybee colonies by beekeepers.Acaricides used to control mitepredators are lipophilic and,because they are soluble inbeeswax, they accumulate in it.Acaricide concentration in waxincreases with the number ofapplications, but decreases veryslowly after use has stopped,with a half-life of five years3.

Other chemicals, such as para-dichlorobenzene that is still usedin some countries to control waxmoth, and wood preservatives(used to paint hives) may alsoaccumulate in wax. Insecticidesused in buildings where beeswaxis stored post-harvest can alsobe taken up into the wax. Thiscontamination of beeswax canbe minimised by avoiding theuse of synthetic chemicals inbeekeeping, and careful post-harvest packaging and storage.

In industrialised countries, thewidespread use of chemicalsin beekeeping and subsequentcontamination of beeswax, makesthe beeswax harvested fromdisease-free colonies in Africa andother regions more precious andvaluable.

Pure beeswax has a good aroma,and when a wax block is broken, itshows a grainy surface. That is notthe case if it has been adulteratedwith paraffin, fat or other oil. Ifpure beeswax is chewed, it doesnot stick to the teeth, and whenrolled between fingers it softensbut does not stick to the fingers.When paraffin wax is mixed withbeeswax, the wax becomes moretransparent and slightly greasy tothe touch.

Pure beeswax is relativelyexpensive, and so there has alwaysbeen a tendency for people to tryto falsify or dilute it with cheapermaterials. Adulteration withparaffin wax depresses the meltingpoint (64.5°C) and weakens the

Bees for Development journal 120 September 2016

material. It follows that usingadulterated wax for foundationwill weaken the comb and causeproblems for the bees and thebeekeeper.

Wax productionAn important aspect of framehive beekeeping is the reuse ofempty combs after the extractionof honey, thus maximising honeyproduction and minimising theproduction of wax. Thereforebeekeeping using frame hivesresults in the harvesting ofrelatively little beeswax, andthe production ratio of honeyto beeswax production isapproximately 75 : 1.

Beekeeping using local-style,fixed-comb hives, or movable-comb (top-bar) hives or WarrePeople's hives, results in greateryields of beeswax which isharvested along with honey. Thedelicate honeycombs are brokento enable the extraction of honey,and cannot be returned to the hive.The ratio of honey to beeswaxproduction is about 10 : 1. For thisreason, countries with fixed-combbeekeeping and honey huntingproduce significant amounts ofbeeswax, which can provide avaluable crop for local sale oreven export, if available in bulk.Beeswax rather than honey maybe the most valuable product ofbeekeeping, although this value isnot everywhere appreciated.

Beekeepers using frame hivesrequire large quantities ofbeeswax for making foundation.Many beekeepers harvest, processand recycle their own beeswax, sothis use is not evident in the tradestatistics. In countries where framehives are used, the major use ofbeeswax will be the beekeepingequipment sector manufacturingfoundation. It is common practicefor beekeepers to render thebeeswax from their own beesinto lumps of pure beeswax, andto exchange this for a smallerweight of ready-made sheets offoundation, made by commercialmanufacturers of foundation.

Cappings are the best sourceof new beeswax, but scraps ofbrace or burr comb (bits of combbuilt by the bees as part of thenest structure), old honeycombsand old brood combs all yield a

valuable beeswax harvest. Thebeekeeper with a just few hivescan produce blocks of wax ofexcellent quality from thesesources.

Processing beeswaxWhatever beeswax is to be usedfor, it has to be melted and filteredand turned into a solid wax block.Expensive equipment is availableto achieve beeswax rendering,however most beekeepers achieveperfect results without spendingmoney on equipment. There area number of different ways toprocess beeswax, all of whichinvolve a combination of meltingthe beeswax and filtering i. oneway is to melt washed honeycombin clean water and put the moltenwax and water mix through aheavy cloth. The hot mixture maythen be squeezed out of the bagusing two sticks as shown. Thereceiving bucket can be madeof tin, steel or enamel. Scraps ofcocoon, wood, grass and other

large particles are filtered out bythis process. After squeezing themixture, it is left to cool whereuponthe wax and water separate tocreate a disc of wax floating on thewater. This operation should bedone in a clean environment andthe hot mixture left for some hoursfor the wax to solidify. Any smallimpurities that passed thoughtthe cloth can be scraped off thebottom of the solid wax disc, andthe filtering process repeatedthrough finer cloth.

References1 BRADBEAR, N. (2009) Productionand trade of beeswax. In:Bees and their role in forestlivelihoods. FAO, Rome, Italy.Chapter 10.

2 TAUTZ, J. (2008) The buzzabout bees, biology of asuperorganism. Springer, Berlin,Germany. Chapter 7 p 157

3 BOGDANOV, S. (2004) Beeswax,quality issues today. Bee World85 (3): 46-50.

Processing beeswax by filtering a hot mixture of melted beeswax and hot waterthrough a heavy cloth.