• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

carolina honeybees logo

For the Love of Beekeeping & Bees

Header Left

Header Right

Header Left

Header Right

  • Home
  • Bees
  • Beekeeping
  • Beeswax
  • Honey
  • Bee Gardens
  • Class & Books
    • Beekeeping Class Combo
    • Beekeeping Journal
    • Buzz into Beekeeping
    • Flowers for Your Honeybee Garden Book
  • Search
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service
  • Home
  • Bees
  • Beekeeping
  • Beeswax
  • Honey
  • Bee Gardens
  • Class & Books
    • Beekeeping Class Combo
    • Beekeeping Journal
    • Buzz into Beekeeping
    • Flowers for Your Honeybee Garden Book
  • Search
honeybees

How do Bees Make wax?

Home » Bee Farm Blog » Beeswax » How do Bees Make wax?

November 20, 2020 //  by Beekeeper Charlotte//  10 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Full Disclosure Read Here
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Table of Contents

  • Where Does Beeswax Come From?
  • What is Beeswax?
  • How is Beeswax Made?
    • Worker Bees Have Wax Glands
    • Bees Use Wax to Build Honeycomb
  • Why Bees Make Wax
  • Why are Beeswax Cells in a Hexagon Shape?
    • Do all Honey Bees Make Wax?
    • The Colors of Raw Beeswax
  • How Bees Use Beeswax in the Hive
    • Beehives Making Wax Produce Less Honey!
  • Beeswax Is A Valuable Hive Product
    • How to Buy Pure Beeswax? 
    • Can You Eat Beeswax?
  • Final Thoughts on How Bees Make Wax

Where Does Beeswax Come From?

Beeswax is one of the most magical substances on earth – at least that’s what we beekeepers will tell you. Beeswax comes from bees – honey bees in particular. How do bees make beeswax? Wax production is one of the more intriguing facts about honey bees that we know. Beeswax is much more valuable per pound than honey. Does that surprise you?

picture of beeswax honeycomb from a hive

Any local beekeeper who displays a booth of bee products will often have a few blocks of beeswax or beeswax candles. Everyone loves to touch the wax and take a sniff.

The light honey aroma permeates the air when blocks of beeswax are nearby. It is hard to believe that honey bees actually make this wonderful substance. 

Have you ever held a block of fresh beeswax? If you have, you know it is a joy from the hive.  We love to look at it and smell it.  It engages the senses of touch and smell.

What is Beeswax?

Beeswax is a natural wax that is produced from the glands of bees in the genus Apis. Amazingly, not every chemical compound in beeswax has been identified.

However, we do know that it has over 280 different compounds consisting of many acids, esters, polyesters and fatty acids. The exact composition of beeswax varies from one location to another.

picture of beeswax honeycomb hexagonal cells made by bees

As a beekeeper for many years, I know that rendered beeswax from my hives can vary in color from one year to another. Most years it is light yellow but sometimes rendered wax is bright yellow.

With a melting point of around 147 °F, beeswax can be gently melted to retain all of its aromas and desirable properties.

Beeswax that is heated for a long period or to a temperature over 185°F may darken and lose some of its golden color. When exposed to temperatures near 400°F beeswax can cause fire .  

image of honey bees on comb in hive - how bees make beeswax

How is Beeswax Made?

Beeswax is made by worker honey bees inside the beehive. Usually these are house bees who have not started foraging outside yet.

Young adult worker bees are the colony members that produce wax. Bees around the age of 14 – 21 days are the best wax producers. Though in a pinch, other worker bees can make wax too – they just will not be as good at it.

Aside from plenty of young workers, the colony has a few more requirements for good wax production. There has to be a need for wax in the hive and a good flow of food coming in.

Worker Bees Have Wax Glands

Worker honey bees have special glands on the underside of their abdomen. There are 4 pairs of glands (for a total of 8) that can secrete wax.

When wax is first secreted it is in small pieces and is clear. We call these pieces of wax – wax scales. It takes many scales of wax to build sections of comb.

picture of honey bee making wax from wax glands

I got a shot of one of my worker honey bees with wax scales showing on her underside. I was so impressed.  You Go Girl !

Bees Use Wax to Build Honeycomb

When the colony needs beeswax, young adult bees gorge on honey. This boost of food is necessary to activate the wax glands.

The process of making wax requires honey bees to consume a lot of food. Hence, wax production is a resource heavy task for the honey bee colony.

For the beekeeper whose bees are not building comb, a lack of enough young bees or food resources are possible problems.

The honey bees actually hang in “chains” to construct the comb.  We call this “festooning“. The bees grab the wax scales with their legs and use legs and mouth parts to shape the beeswax into comb.

Why Bees Make Wax

Honey bees make wax to build their hives – at least the internal part which is where all bee life takes place.

Sheets of honeycomb fill the interior of a beehive. Each sheet contains thousands of individual wax cells. These cells will be used to hold baby bees, and food stores.

Most people assume that honey bees collect some type of material for nest building. Honey bees don’t collect nest materials – they produce them!

Why are Beeswax Cells in a Hexagon Shape?

A deep sized frame of honeycomb will have (on average) about 4500 individual wax cells per side. Each one is in a hexagon shape – why do bees build wax cells as a hexagon?

The shape is chosen for cell building because it allow the construction of the most cells in a given space with the smallest amount of beeswax. Wax production is costly for the colony – they don’t waste wax.

picture of honey bees in a hive on a sheet of beeswax honey comb

Do all Honey Bees Make Wax?

All honey bee species have the capacity to make wax. However, worker bees are the only members of a colony that can do this important task. All worker bees are females -only female workers have developed wax glands.

The Colors of Raw Beeswax

When fresh wax is first made by bees, it is a beautiful pristine white. After spending time in the hive, the color of wax honeycomb changes.

Often progressing from a light yellow, to light brown and if left long enough you will even see black comb.

This is due to the tendency of honeycomb to absorb pollen oils, propolis stains and the dirt from thousands of little feet.

How Bees Use Beeswax in the Hive

When bees make wax, they are investing a lot of energy and time into the project. Therefore, they use and reuse any scraps of wax as much as possible.

Clean new wax is used to cap cells of ripe honey for storage. This protects the food stores until it is needed by the colony.

Wax bits can be reused for tasks such as capping brood cells. This is one reason brood caps are tan instead of white.

Beehives Making Wax Produce Less Honey!

It’s important to realize the effort that honey bees have to expend to produce wax. Some reports say that bees must consume 8 pounds of honey to produce 1 pound of beeswax.  That is over 3 quarts of honey!

A colony that has to produce a lot of fresh beeswax each season produces less surplus honey.

Beeswax production is an expensive undertaking for the bee colony. Therefore, if you find a honey jar containing comb it will be more expensive.

Beeswax Is A Valuable Hive Product

Honey is not the only product beekeepers can sell. Beekeepers have wax left over after the honey harvest. This excess beeswax can be used in many crafts and projects.

You can make soaps, beeswax balms and pure beeswax candles too.

Cleaned beeswax can vary in color from light to dark but if you are seeing snow white beeswax products- the wax has probably been bleached.

Bleaching can result in a beautiful product but it does often remove the natural honey fragrance. 

How to Buy Pure Beeswax? 

It is best to purchase beeswax from your local beekeeper.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have a local supply. I often sell small bars in my Etsy store.

If you need larger quantities, try Amazon . Read the description closely -Beeswax is often mixed with paraffin to stretch the product further.

Can You Eat Beeswax?

Even though pure beeswax is edible, we have no firm data on any nutritional value.  The wax monoesters that make up the wax are poorly digested in the gut of humans and other mammals.

However, the experience of eating honeycomb filled with fresh honey is a delight. After removing the delicious honey, beeswax has been used for many human purposes over thousands of years.

Final Thoughts on How Bees Make Wax

Beeswax is not one simple compound but a combination of many. Made by honey bees, beeswax is used to build the very structure of the hive.

Worker bees of the honey bee colony produce only as much as as is needed. We humans enjoy using beeswax too – it is popular item for many crafts, and projects.    

Have fun, be safe
Beekeeper Charlotte

Category: BeeswaxTag: Beeswax

About Beekeeper Charlotte

Master Beekeeper, Charlotte Anderson shares her love of all things honeybee. She helps others become better beekeepers and teaches new beekeepers how to get started. Her mission is spreading awareness of the importance of honey bees. She is a former Beekeeper of the Year in South Carolina.

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

chunks of raw beeswax to be used in home

35 Awesome Uses for Beeswax

tins of beeswax foot balm

Beeswax Balm for Your Feet-DIY

beeswax in a comb - cappings

How to Clean Beeswax: Easy Tips for Success

image of 4 hand dipped beeswax candles

How to Make Hand Dipped Beeswax Candles

clean burning beeswax candles and pieces of honey comb

Benefits of Beeswax Candles-Why Choose Beeswax

How to Make Egg Shaped Beeswax Candles

picture of bees wax lotion recipe in jar

Easy Beeswax Lotion Recipe-All Natural

image of various beeswax candle molds with hot beeswax

Best Beeswax Candle Molds

picture of beeswax Christmas ornament Santa hanging on evergreen tree

DIY Beeswax Christmas Ornaments

image of handmade rolled beeswax Christmas tree candles with Holly

DIY Rolled Beeswax Christmas Tree Candles

image of fall leaves preserved with bees wax

How to Preserve Leaves with Beeswax

pouring melted beeswax into a jar for candles

How to Make Beeswax Candles with Ease

Previous Post: «many types of bees in a beehive on comb 3 Types of Honey Bees in a Hive
Next Post: Collecting a Bee Swarm From My Bait Hive large bee swarm entering bait hive»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. John Hamblin

    December 19, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    I enjoy your news letter, keep up the good work.

  2. Beekeeper Charlotte

    December 20, 2016 at 8:22 pm

    Thanks John, you are so kind !

  3. Ali

    April 15, 2018 at 7:14 pm

    Does Honey Bee have Dance on Honey Comb in Super ? If it is then what is called and what is it ?

  4. Beekeeper Charlotte

    April 16, 2018 at 3:24 pm

    It would still be a regular dance. Most of the dances are on an area of brood comb not too far from the hive entrance.

  5. Angela ?

    June 24, 2019 at 10:43 pm

    I’m a bee keeper in Battle Ground Washington, and love reading your posts, thanks for the enjoyable info.

  6. Beekeeper Charlotte

    June 25, 2019 at 3:39 pm

    Thank you for taking the time to reach out. I am honored!

  7. Chris

    July 18, 2019 at 4:38 pm

    Love reading all your posts and get a lot of information from your posts

  8. Beekeeper Charlotte

    July 19, 2019 at 8:49 am

    Thank you so very much.

  9. garret

    March 27, 2020 at 8:52 am

    i always love explanations of “things” in the world…that article was loaded with great information which i always wanted to know! i just bought beeswax to mix with coconut oil and cannabis (a little peppermint oil too!) for a pain topical…now i know how my ingredient is made!

  10. Beekeeper Charlotte

    March 29, 2020 at 10:19 am

    Awesome… thank you I’m glad you found it interesting

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

picture of beekeeper charlotteHi, this is Beekeeper Charlotte

Welcome to my site. Want to learn more about bees? Let’s get started.

To learn more about my journey to becoming the first female Master Beekeeper in my state?

Learn More About Me

buzz beekeeping book

Latest Posts on the Blog

developing queen cell in capped stage on frame

4 Stages of Queen Cells

queen honey bee swarm cells on frame

Queen Cells : Do They Mean Trouble?

Footer

Affiliate Disclosure Policy

Carolina Honeybees, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  Affiliate links to Amazon or any other company do not cost you anything.

We are also affiliates for other reputable companies and may earn a commission from sales resulting from a link. See full disclosure policy on Privacy Page. Privacy Policy & Affiliate Info

VISIT MY ETSY SHOP

Visit Carolina Honeybees on Etsy

  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service

Copyright © 2021 Carolina Honeybees · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.