Bee hive wax complex Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the ...

s of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of

worker bee A worker bee is any female bee that lacks the reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee and carries out the majority of tasks needed for the functioning of the hive. While worker bees are present in all eusocial bee species, the term is rar ...

s, 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 A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

. Chemically, beeswax consists mainly of

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

s of

fatty acids In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...

and various long-chain alcohols. Beeswax has been used since prehistory as the first plastic, as a lubricant and waterproofing agent, in lost wax casting of metals and glass, as a polish for wood and leather, for making candles, as an ingredient in cosmetics and as an artistic medium in

encaustic painting Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other mate ...

. Beeswax is edible, having similarly negligible

toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...

to plant waxes, and is approved for food use in most countries and in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

under the

E number E numbers, short for Europe numbers, are codes for substances used as food additives, including those found naturally in many foods, such as vitamin C, for use within the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Commonly ...

E901. However, due to its inability to be broken down by the human digestive system, it has insignificant nutritional value.

Production

Beeswax is formed by

s, which secrete it from eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites (the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

shield or plate of each segment of the body) on abdominal segments 4 to 7. The sizes of these wax glands depend on the age of the worker, and after many daily flights, these glands gradually begin to

atrophy Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), malnutrition, poor nourishment, poor circulatory system, circulation, loss of hormone, ...

. The new wax is initially glass-clear and colorless, becoming opaque after chewing and being contaminated with pollen by the hive worker bees, becoming progressively yellower or browner by incorporation of

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

oils and propolis. The wax scales are about across and thick, and about 1100 are needed to make a gram of wax.Brown, R, H. (1981) ''Beeswax'' (2nd edition) Bee Books New and Old, Burrowbridge, Somerset UK. Worker bees use the beeswax to build

honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic cells built from beeswax by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) and stores of honey and pol ...

cells. For the wax-making bees to secrete wax, the ambient temperature in the hive must be . The book ''Beeswax Production, Harvesting, Processing and Products'' suggests of beeswax is sufficient to store of honey. Another study estimated that of wax can store of honey. Sugars from honey are metabolized into beeswax in wax-gland-associated fat cells. The amount of

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

used by bees to produce wax has not been accurately determined, but according to Whitcomb's 1946 experiment, of honey yields of wax.

Processing

Beeswax as a product for human use may come from cappings cut off the cells in the process of extraction, from old comb that is scrapped, or from unwanted burr comb and brace comb removed from a hive. Its color varies from nearly white to brownish, but most often is a shade of yellow, depending on purity, the region, and the type of flowers gathered by the bees. The wax from the brood comb of the honey bee hive tends to be darker than wax from the honeycomb because impurities accumulate more quickly in the brood comb. Due to the impurities, the wax must be rendered before further use. The leftovers are called slumgum, and is derived from old breeding rubbish (pupa casings, cocoons, shed larva skins, etc.), bee droppings, propolis, and general rubbish. The wax may be clarified further by heating in water. As with petroleum waxes, it may be softened by dilution with mineral oil or vegetable oil to make it more workable at room temperature.

Physical characteristics

Beeswax is a fragrant solid at room temperature. The colors are light yellow, medium yellow, or dark brown and white. Beeswax is a tough wax formed from a mixture of several

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

s. Beeswax has a relatively low

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state of matter, state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase (matter), phase exist in Thermodynamic equilib ...

range of . If beeswax is heated above discoloration occurs. The

flash point The flash point of a material is the "lowest liquid temperature at which, under certain standardized conditions, a liquid gives off vapours in a quantity such as to be capable of forming an ignitable vapour/air mixture". The flash point is somet ...

of beeswax is . When natural beeswax is cold, it is brittle, and its fracture is dry and granular. At room temperature (conventionally taken as about ), it is tenacious and it softens further at human

body temperature Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

().

Chemical composition

An approximate

chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...

for beeswax is C₁₅H₃₁COOC₃₀H₆₁. Its main constituents are palmitate,

palmitoleate Palmitoleic acid, or (9''Z'')-hexadec-9-enoic acid, is an omega-7 fatty acid, omega-7 monounsaturated fat, monounsaturated fatty acid (16:1n-7) with the formula CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)7COOH. It is a rare component of fats. It is a common constituent ...

, and oleate

s of long-chain (30–32 carbons) aliphatic

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

s, with the ratio of triacontanyl palmitate CH₃(CH₂)₂₉O-CO-(CH₂)₁₄CH₃ to cerotic acid CH₃(CH₂)₂₄COOH, the two principal constituents, being 6:1. Beeswax can be classified generally into European and Oriental types. The saponification value is lower (3–5) for European beeswax, and higher (8–9) for Oriental types. The analytical characterization can be done by high-temperature

gas chromatography Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for Separation process, separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without Chemical decomposition, decomposition. Typical uses of GC include t ...

Adulteration

Beeswax faces challenges in the market due to the presence of various suppliers, making it difficult to distinguish authentic from fake variants. Adulterated beeswax often contains paraffin and other toxic additives, posing potential health risks and lacking the genuine honey-scented aroma of pure beeswax. Pharmaceutical grades of pure beeswax are distributed in the shape of pellets for the cosmetic, phamaceutical and food industries, among other uses.

Production

In 2020, world production of beeswax was 62,116

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

s, led by India with 38% of the total.

Uses

Candle-making has long involved the use of beeswax, which burns readily and cleanly, and this material was traditionally prescribed for the making of the Paschal candle or "Easter candle". Beeswax candles are purported to be superior to other wax candles, because they burn brighter and longer, do not bend, and burn cleaner. It is further recommended for the making of other candles used in the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Beeswax is also the candle constituent of choice in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

.Uwe Wolfmeier, Hans Schmidt, Franz-Leo Heinrichs, Georg Michalczyk, Wolfgang Payer, Wolfram Dietsche, Klaus Boehlke, Gerd Hohner, Josef Wildgruber "Waxes" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2002. . Refined beeswax plays a prominent role in art materials both as a binder in encaustic paint and as a stabilizer in

oil paint Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. Oil paint also has practical advantages over other paints, mainly because it is waterproof. The earliest surviving ...

to add body. Beeswax is an ingredient in surgical bone wax, which is used during surgery to control bleeding from bone surfaces;

shoe polish Shoe polish, also known as boot polish and shoeshine, is a waxy paste (rheology), paste, cream (pharmaceutical), cream, or liquid that is used to polish, polishing, shine, and waterproofing, waterproof leather shoes or boots to extend the footwe ...

and furniture polish can both use beeswax as a component, dissolved in turpentine or sometimes blended with

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

or tung oil; modeling waxes can also use beeswax as a component; pure beeswax can also be used as an organic surfboard wax. Beeswax blended with pine

rosin Rosin (), also known as colophony or Greek pitch (), is a resinous material obtained from pine trees and other plants, mostly conifers. The primary components of rosin are diterpenoids, i.e., C20 carboxylic acids. Rosin consists mainly of r ...

is used for waxing, and can serve as an adhesive to attach reed plates to the structure inside a squeezebox. It can also be used to make Cutler's resin, an adhesive used to glue handles onto cutlery knives. It is used in Eastern Europe in egg decoration; it is used for writing, via resist dyeing, on

batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

eggs (as in '' pysanky'') and for making beaded eggs. Beeswax is used by

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

s to make a surface on

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

s for thumb rolls. It can also be used as a metal injection moulding binder component along with other polymeric binder materials. Beeswax was formerly used in the manufacture of phonograph cylinders. It may still be used to seal formal legal or royal decree and academic parchments such as placing an awarding stamp imprimatur of the university upon completion of postgraduate degrees. Purified and bleached beeswax is used in the production of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. The three main types of beeswax products are yellow, white, and beeswax absolute. Yellow beeswax is the crude product obtained from the honeycomb, white beeswax is bleached or filtered yellow beeswax, and beeswax absolute is yellow beeswax treated with alcohol. In food preparation, it is used as a coating for

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

; by sealing out the air, protection is given against spoilage (mold growth). Beeswax may also be used as a food additive E901, in small quantities acting as a glazing agent, which serves to prevent water loss, or used to provide surface protection for some fruits. Soft gelatin capsules and tablet coatings may also use E901. Beeswax is also a common ingredient of natural chewing gum. The wax monoesters in beeswax are poorly hydrolysed in the guts of humans and other

mammals A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three middle e ...

, so they have insignificant nutritional value.Beeswax absorption and toxicity
Large amounts of such waxes in the diet pose theoretical toxicological problems for mammals. Some birds, such as

honeyguide Honeyguides (family (biology), family Indicatoridae) are a family of birds in the order Piciformes. They are also known as indicator birds, or honey birds, although the latter term is also used more narrowly to refer to species of the genus ''Pro ...

s, can digest beeswax. Beeswax is the main diet of wax moth larvae. The use of beeswax in skin care and cosmetics has been increasing. A German study found beeswax to be superior to similar barrier creams (usually mineral oil-based creams such as

petroleum jelly Petroleum jelly, petrolatum (), white petrolatum, soft paraffin, or multi-hydrocarbon, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons (with carbon numbers mainly higher than 25), originally promoted as a topical ointment for i ...

), when used according to its protocol. Beeswax is used in lip balm,

lip gloss Lip gloss is a cosmetic used primarily to give lips a glossy luster, and sometimes to add a subtle color. It is distributed as a fluid or a soft solid (not to be confused with lip balm, which generally has medical or soothing purposes, or lips ...

, hand creams, salves, and moisturizers; and in cosmetics such as eye shadow, blush, and

eye liner An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual perception, visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher ...

. Beeswax is also an important ingredient in moustache wax and hair pomades, which make hair look sleek and shiny. In oil spill control, beeswax is processed to create Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP). It is used to absorb oil or petroleum-based pollutants from water.

Historical uses

Beeswax as Dental Filling on a Neolithic Human Tooth - Journal

Beeswax was among the first plastics to be used, alongside other natural polymers such as

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae, which is primarily used to create a high-quality latex of the same name. The material is rigid, naturally biologically Chemically inert, inert, resilient, electrically n ...

, horn, tortoiseshell, and

shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female Kerria lacca, lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. Chemically, it is mainly composed of aleuritic acid, jalaric acid, shellolic acid, and other natural waxes. It is processed and s ...

. For thousands of years, beeswax has had a wide variety of applications; it has been found in the tombs of Egypt, in wrecked Viking ships, and in Roman ruins. Beeswax never goes bad and can be heated and reused. Historically, it has been used: * As candles - the oldest intact beeswax candles north of the Alps were found in the Alamannic graveyard of Oberflacht, Germany, dating to 6th/7th century AD * In the manufacture of cosmetics * As a modelling material in the lost-wax casting process, or ''cire perdue'' * For

wax tablet A wax tablet is a tablet (disambiguation), tablet made of wood and covered with a layer of wax, often linked loosely to a cover tablet, as a "double-leaved" diptych. It was used as a reusable and portable writing surface in classical antiquity, ...

s used for a variety of writing purposes * In

s such as the Fayum mummy portraits * In bow making * To strengthen and preserve sewing thread, cordage, shoe laces, etc. * As a component of

sealing wax Sealing wax is a wax material of a seal (emblem), seal which, after melting, hardens quickly (to paper, parchment, ribbons and wire, and other material), forming a bond that is difficult to break without noticeable tampering. Wax is used to verify ...

* To strengthen and to forestall splitting and cracking of wind instrument reeds * To form the mouthpieces of a

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

, and the frets on the Philippine '' kutiyapi'' – a type of boat

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

* As a sealant or

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, ...

for

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

s in cap and ball

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

* To stabilize the military explosive Torpex – before being replaced by a petroleum-based product * In producing Javanese ''

'' * As an ancient form of dental tooth filling * As the joint filler in the slate bed of pool and billiard tables.

References

External links

The chemistry of bees
Joel Loveridge, School of Chemistry,

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, accessed November 2005 {{Authority control Bee products Animal glandular products Waxes Biodegradable materials Sewing equipment Articles containing video clips E-number additives

Production

Processing

Physical characteristics

Chemical composition

Adulteration

Production

Uses

Historical uses

See also

References

External links