Beeswax is a natural wax produced by honey bees, forming the foundational material for their hive structures. It possesses unique properties, including malleability at hive temperatures and structural strength, making it essential for colony survival. Humans have valued beeswax for centuries due to its versatility, finding uses in various applications.
How Bees Make Wax
Honey bees produce beeswax through a biological process beginning with the consumption of honey or sugar. Worker bees, typically 10 to 20 days old, are most active wax producers. They convert sugars into liquid wax, which seeps out through tiny pores on eight glands located on the underside of their abdomens. Upon exposure to cooler hive air, this liquid wax hardens into small, translucent flakes, or scales.
Once secreted, bees collect the wax scales using spines on their middle legs, transferring them to their mandibles. They chew and knead the wax, mixing it with saliva to soften and make it pliable for construction. This process changes the wax from a clear, colorless state to an opaque white or yellowish hue. Maintaining an internal hive temperature between 33 and 36 degrees Celsius (91 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit) is crucial for wax production and manipulation, as extreme temperatures make the wax brittle or too soft. Producing beeswax is energy-intensive, requiring bees to consume approximately six to eight pounds of honey to yield just one pound of wax.
Why Beeswax Matters to Bees
Beeswax is fundamental to a honey bee colony’s survival and organization. Its primary function is to construct the honeycomb, the internal framework of the hive. This structure consists of thousands of hexagonal cells. These cells serve multiple purposes, acting as storage for honey, the bees’ primary food source, and for pollen, a vital nutrient.
Beyond food storage, beeswax cells also function as nurseries for the colony’s young. The queen bee lays eggs into these hexagonal compartments, where larvae and pupae develop. The hexagonal shape allows bees to maximize storage volume while using the least amount of wax. This geometric efficiency helps conserve the significant energy expended in wax production. Building and maintaining this comb provides structural integrity and insulation for the entire hive, protecting the colony from external elements.
Gathering Beeswax
Beekeepers gather beeswax primarily from wax cappings and old comb during honey harvesting. When honey cells are full, bees seal them with a thin layer of fresh beeswax called cappings. During honey extraction, these cappings are removed to access the honey, yielding a high-quality, clean source of wax. Beekeepers also collect beeswax from older, darker combs or from burr comb, which are extra wax structures built outside the main frames.
Once collected, raw beeswax contains impurities like honey residue, pollen, propolis, and bee debris. To purify it, beekeepers melt the wax, often using a double boiler, solar wax melter, or by heating it in water. The melted wax is then filtered through fine mesh or cloth to remove solid impurities. This rendering process often involves multiple melting and filtering steps, resulting in a solid block of purified beeswax. Sustainable beekeeping practices prioritize harvesting only excess wax, ensuring the health and integrity of the bee colony remain undisturbed.