''For the rock song by Nirvana, see
Beeswax (song). ''
Beeswax cake
Fresh wax scales (in the middle of the lower row)
'Beeswax' is a natural wax produced in the
bee hive of
honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. Beeswax is produced by young
worker bees between 12 and 17 days old in the form of thin scales secreted by
glands on the ventral surface of the
abdomen. Worker bees have eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the
sternites (the
ventral shield or plate of each segment of the body) on abdominal segments 4 to 7. The size of these wax glands depends on the age of the worker and after daily flights begin these glands gradually atrophy. The new wax scales are initially glass-clear and colourless (see illustration), becoming opaque after mastication by the worker bee. The wax of new honeycomb is nearly white, but becomes progressively more yellow or brown by incorporation of
pollen oils and
propolis.
Western honey bees use the beeswax to build
honeycomb cells in which their young are raised and
honey and
pollen are stored. For the wax-making bees to secrete wax the ambient temperature in the hive has to be 33 to 36 °C (91 to 97 °F). To produce their wax, bees must consume about eight times as much honey by mass. Estimates are that bees fly 150,000 miles to yield one pound of beeswax (530,000 km/kg). When
beekeepers extract the honey, they cut off the wax caps from each honeycomb cell with an uncapping knife or machine. Its color varies from nearly white to brownish, but most often a shade of yellow, depending on purity and the type of flowers gathered by the bees. Wax from the
brood comb of the honey bee
hive tends to be darker than wax from the honeycomb. Impurities accumulate more quickly in the brood comb. Due to the impurities, the wax has to be rendered before further use. The leftovers are called
slumgum.
The wax may further be clarified by heating in water and may then be used for
candles or as a lubricant for drawers and windows or as a wood polish. As with petroleum waxes it may be softened by dilution with vegetable oil to make it more workable at room temperature, whence it may be used to create
sculpture and
jewelry molds for use in the
lost-wax casting process.
Physical characteristics
Beeswax is a tough
wax formed from a mixture of several
compounds including:
The main components of beeswax are
palmitate,
palmitoleate,
hydroxypalmitate[1] and
oleate esters of long-chain (30-32 carbons)
aliphatic alcohols, with the ratio of
triacontanylpalmitate CH
3(CH
2)
29O-CO-(CH
2)
14CH
3 to
cerotic acid[2] CH
3(CH
2)
24COOH, the two principal components, being 6:1.
Beeswax has a high
melting point range, of 62 to 64 °C (144 to 147 °F). It does not boil in air, but continues to heat until it bursts into flame at around 120 °C (250 °F). If beeswax is heated above 85 °C (185 °F) discoloration occurs.
Density at 15 °C is 0.958 to 0.970 g/cm³.
Bee wax can be classified generally into European and Oriental types. The ratio of
saponification value is lower (3-5) for European beeswax, and higher (8-9) for Oriental types.
Hydroxyoctacosanyl hydroxystearate can be used as a beeswax substitute as a consistency regulator and
emulsion stabilizer.
Japan wax is another substitute.
Uses as a product
Beeswax candles and figures
Beeswax is used commercially to make fine
candles,
cosmetics and
pharmaceuticals including
bone wax (cosmetics and pharmaceuticals account for 60% of total consumption), in polishing materials (particularly
shoe polish), as a component of modelling waxes, and in a variety of other products. It is commonly used during the assembly of pool tables to fill the screw holes and the seams between the slates. Accordion makers use beeswax as an adhesive, when blended with pine rosin, to attach reed plates to the structure inside an accordion. Beeswax candles are preferred in most
Eastern Orthodox churches because they burn cleanly, with little or no wax dripping down the sides and little visible
smoke. Beeswax is also prescribed as the material (or at least a significant part of the material) for the
Paschal candle ("Easter Candle") and is recommended for other candles used in the
liturgy of the
Roman Catholic Church.
It is also used as a coating for
cheese, to protect the food as it ages. While some cheese-makers have replaced it with
plastic, many still use beeswax in order to avoid any unpleasant flavors that may result from plastic. As a food additive, beeswax is known as
E901 (
glazing agent).
The burning characteristics of beeswax candles differ from those of paraffin. A beeswax candle flame has a "warmer," more yellow color than that of paraffin, and the color of the flame may vary depending on the season in which the wax was harvested.
Beeswax is also an ingredient in
moustache wax, as well as
dreadlock wax, and was used in the manufacturing of the cylinders used by the earliest phonographs.
Historical use
Beeswax was ancient man's first plastic, and was used for a variety of moulding and modelling tasks.
Lost wax casting of metals, practised by ancient Greeks and Romans, involved coating of a wax model with investment plaster, melting the wax out of the resulting mould and filling the space with molten metal. The technique is still used today even by jewellers, goldsmiths and sculptors, and even in the industrial manufacture of complex components by casting.
The Romans sent messages on hinged pairs of wooden
writing tablets coated with beeswax, the message being written into the smooth wax surface using a
stylus. After it had been read the message could be erased, and a reply written and returned.
Beeswax has been used since ancient times; traces of it were found in the paintings in the
Lascaux cave and in Egyptian
mummies.
Egyptians used it in shipbuilding as well. In the Roman period, beeswax was used as
waterproofing agent for painted walls and as a medium for the
Fayum mummy portraits. Nations subjugated by Rome sometimes paid tribute or taxes in beeswax. In the
Middle Ages beeswax was considered valuable enough to become a form of
currency.
More recently it found use as a modeling material, a component of
sealing wax, and in cosmetics. Beeswax is also the traditional material from which to make
didgeridoo mouthpieces and the frets on the
Philippine kutiyapi, a type of boat
lute.
Trivia
★ In the saying "It's none of your business!" people sometimes replace the word "business" with "beeswax."
★ Beeswax is the title of a song by the popular band
Nirvana.
See also
★
Ester
★
Encaustic painting
★
Paraffin
★
Carnauba wax
★
Bone wax
References
★
The chemistry of bees Joel Loveridge, School of Chemistry
University of Bristol accessed Nov 2005
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