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Elements that result from melting beehive wax - from bottom: slumgum, honey, beeswax. Slumgum in beekeeping is the residue of the beeswax rendering process. [1] [2]When the beeswax from brood comb is rendered to produce clean wax, it leaves behind the pupa casings, skins shed by molting larvae, excrement from larvae, wax moth cocoons, and other residual debris included in the original material.
Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers collect and use it to form cells for honey storage and larval and pupal protection within the beehive.
Beekeepers (or apiarists) keep bees to collect honey and other products of the hive: beeswax, propolis, bee pollen, and royal jelly. Other sources of beekeeping income include pollination of crops, raising queens, and production of package bees for sale. Bee hives are kept in an apiary or "bee yard".
Beeswax wrap is made by infusing cotton with resin, food-grade beeswax and an oil, commonly coconut or jojoba. [2] The wax coating allows the cloth to be breathable and waterproof. [5] Beeswax is harvested when honey is extracted from beehives. [10] The wax caps are sliced off the hive when honey is harvested. [10]
[1] [2] The nest's internal structure is a densely packed group of hexagonal prismatic cells made of beeswax, called a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store food (honey and pollen) and to house the brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae). Beehives serve several purposes.
Propolis or bee glue is a resinous mixture that honey bees produce by mixing saliva and beeswax with exudate gathered from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the beehive .
During the construction of hexagonal cells, wax temperature is between 33.6–37.6 °C (92.5–99.7 °F), well below the 40 °C (104 °F) temperature at which wax is assumed to be liquid for initiating new comb construction. [9] The body temperature of bees is a factor for regulating an ideal wax temperature for building the comb. [10]
The removed bits of wax, called cappings, are rich in honey which can be slowly drained off with the help of some heating. This 'cappings wax' is very valuable and often used to make candles or other products. Automated uncapping machines normally work by abrading the surface of the wax with moving chains or bristles or hot knives.