Honeybees Create Beeswax
Scientifically speaking, beeswax is a natural substance secreted by worker honey bees (female honey bees) from glands on the underside of their abdomens. This secreted beeswax is known as a beeswax scale. A single beeswax scale is roughly 3 millimeters in diameter and just 1/10th of a millimeter in thickness; it takes roughly 1000 - 2000 of these scales to make just a single gram of beeswax.
That means it takes an enormous 500,000 to 1,000,000 scales to make a single pound of beeswax, the same amount of beeswax used in a 3" x 4" beeswax pillar candle! Some reports mention it can even take up to 2,000,000 scales to make a pound of beeswax; this would mean the scales are a bit smaller than average.
Beeswax Is Born Translucent
In its most pure natural form beeswax is actually white, or translucent, depending on the thickness of the beeswax scales. This wax thickness is generally relative to the age of the worker bee, younger and older bees tend to have thinner scales, while a perfect middle aged worker bee has the most efficient and thicker beeswax scale.
Before the wax secretion can take place the hive temperature needs to be around 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Most wax production in the US occurs from April to June because the queens are laying more eggs to keep the colony strong, and because nectar flow, which eventually becomes honey, is high and the bees need storage space.
A Closer Look At The Beeswax Scale
The Honeybee Of Commerce
While there are 4 species of honey bees around the world, it is generally the species known as Apis mellifera that produces most of the beeswax humans use today. Some refer to this species as the honey bee of commerce.
The 3 other species of honey bees produce small amounts of honey and wax also, but are less easy to work with and often not used in most instances. Other types of bees (including bumble bees) produce wax too, though it is in such minute quantities as to be generally unusable for humans to harvest.
Beeswax Scale
Wax scales are formed on the anterior part of each of the last four normal sternites (sternal plates), found on segments 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the abdomen of the worker honey bee. Eight wax glands are located over these sternal plates of the abdomen (4 on each side). The wax is secreted as a liquid and solidifies into scales upon contact with the plates.
It Takes Honey To Make Beeswax
Bees feed on their honey in order to produce beeswax scales. Studies varies slightly, but on average it takes the consumption of roughly a ratio of eight to ten parts honey to make one part beeswax. While secreting the wax bees do no other work in the hive. Worker honey bees use this secreted wax to assemble their elegantly designed honeycomb, the image most people conjure when they think of bees and honey.
The honeycomb shape (6 sided) is structurally stronger than a square or circle shape. The beeswax honeycomb is a most vital foundation for all bee colonies; this honeycomb is used by the honey bees to store their young (larvae), as well as an efficient storage area for their honey and pollen.
Golden Yellow Beeswax
The beeswax most people are familiar with is a light golden yellow color. This beautiful color is achieved from the pollen and propolis that naturally stain the beeswax. If excessive amounts of pollen oils and propolis are present in the beeswax it can even become a dark brown.
When you see white beeswax candles the pollen and propolis has been removed from the beeswax. White beeswax is achieved either naturally or with the use of chemicals (bleach or hydrogen peroxide are common methods). Using chemicals to "bleach" beeswax is common for cosmetic applications, though most reputable beeswax candle manufactures use non-chemical methods to remove pollen and propolis to acquire a white beeswax.