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Help me fact check and find the words to describe beeswax

 
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I'm fact-checking for a video I'm making.

I have a chunk of beeswax I use for sewing.  I love it.  It's a rich dark brown and has a strong late summer scent in addition to the beeswax smell.  It hardly softens at body temperature.  The farmer I bought it from says it came from buckwheat honey and this is what wax looks like unfiltered.

A little later I need more wax, so I buy some from another farmer.  It's very light in colour, almost white.  But it has a light floral beeswax smell.  It melts a bit at body temperature, but only to reshape it, not actually greasy.  They say they only did one 'clean' of it before moulding it into blocks.

And then I get some cosmetic beeswax from amazon.  This has no smell at all.  It melts to a thick liquid if I leave it in my hand too long.  It's sort of brittle.  It's "purified."

What is going on?

How come the different waxes smell and look different?  Why do they have different melting temperatures?

Is it just what the bees eat - do bees even eat this or is there a better word?  

And for bouns points, is there some common element to help people find real wax from farmers instead of this cosmetic grade stuff?  

Basically, I only know what I've been told, so I'm looking for some info and words to see if it's correct in my brain and that I can use to describe this better.
 
r ranson
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here's the cosmetic and the one I think is buckwheat wax look like.  It's hard to know they are both the same thing.  
different-types-of-bees-wax.png
different types of bees wax
different types of bees wax
 
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The colour of beeswax will vary depending on where it came from. If the wax is just from the cappings, will be a lovely golden colour when rendered and most likely won't need filtering or further cleaning.

I am given both the cappings and brood comb and it is usually all mixed in together but the colour of the unprocessed wax varies depending on how old it is and what part of the hive it came from.

There are many different methods of rendering the wax, i place mine in a large pot with water, gently heat and allow to cool. When the wax is completely solid, I tip it out and most of the debris will have sunk to the bottom and can be scraped off.

This is repeated up to 5 or six times until there is no longer any slum gum left to scrape off.  I keep it to remelt and use in fire lighters.

If the wax is just melted, it will be the brown colour of your sewing wax.

Pure beeswax that has been rendered and cleaned will be a lovely golden colour but ought not melt in your hand, the cosmetic wax may have had some oil added to it.

The best place to source real wax would be to find a hobby beekeeper, they often discard their wax cappings.
20180607_193955.jpg
Wax cappings and brood comb
Wax cappings and brood comb
20200213_193903.jpg
Mostly cappings
Mostly cappings
20220515_181151.jpg
Melting wax
Melting wax
20190218_065802.jpg
Wax with slum gum ready to scrape
Wax with slum gum ready to scrape
20220517_090845.jpg
After several renders
After several renders
20200505_134208.jpg
Cleaned and in small molds
Cleaned and in small molds
20200505_115801.jpg
Slum gum re melted for firelighters
Slum gum re melted for firelighters
 
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When bees first make the wax it is almost pure white. I don't think where they gather pollen or nectar from has any affect on wax color. It is produced by a gland inside their body, not directly from their food source. Wax gradually darkens each time they reuse it. After a few years it is blackish. When people melt it down to sell or make candles or whatever some of the discoloration can be removed with filtration & water. The best I've seen it get cleaned is the golden color in your picture. I suspect the brittle wax has impurities such as remnants from wax moths .... they really mess up good wax.
 
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The comments above are accurate.

I'd just add that clean wax is very durable and stable. Dirty wax can decay if it gets damp, or if wax moths find it. I probably wouldn't use it on fabric without at least one more cleaning step from what is seen in those pictures.

It is best done by melting it very very gently over a layer of water and allowing it to cool as slowly as possible. The impurities will settle to the bottom. For small batches doing it in a tall thin vessel will give the least wastage. Scrape the bottom of the resulting block down to get rid of the impurities.

Your very dark wax will lighten at least a few shades, but you won't get as far as the pale yellow.

Lastly a word of warning; there is a lot of fake wax out there. Typically a paraffin substitute. It causes problems for beekeepers if they try to use it in hives, as the bees reject it. The best bet is to find a local beekeepers and buy a few kilos directly. Expect to pay a reasonable amount for it; clean beeswax takes a lot of processing and the bees don't make much.
 
r ranson
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Wow, wax is far more interesting than I expected.  I knew bees were neat, but boy those girls are awesome!

The cosmetic grade wax claims to be 100% beeswax with no other ingredients.  I can't see how it is as my body temp is pretty low and it can quickly melt these little beads.

I'm so glad I asked you guys.  With what I've learned here, I was completely off with my script.  You are lifesavers.  
 
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IF you think you need more beeswax because your Buckwheat Wax has all of those 'runs' in it you should first try re-melting your wax in a muffin pan or other small metal can/pot and it will come out looking like new!

But, IF you're determined to buy more wax, first, do this.

On the Internet type in "XXXXXXXX County Beekeepers" with the X's filled in with your County's name. IF the "county" doesn't give you a return, try typing your state name in. You should come up with a list of names of people and/or businesses of beekeepers. And, generally they either have their phone numbers listed, or they have eMail links or Web Site links. IF they don't have what you want you should ask if they know of anyone who does have what you want.

By the way, the more times the wax is filtered the lighter it gets almost to the new wax white color. And wax isn't the only 'coloring' you'll see from a hive. Honey coloring runs from almost clear and runs through the browns and yellows to dark brown and almost black in some cases. I've even seen it a red rose water color because of where the bees were gathering their nectar from.

Now you could go all out and start keeping bees and you could learn so much more about bees, beekeeping, honey extraction and processing and bees wax extraction, filtering, and processing into a huge variety of forms - even hand-made candles.    :-)
 
r ranson
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I don't know if I need to buy more at this time.  What I'm curious about is suggestions for others.  I often get asked where I get my wax, and I know my local beekeeper community is a bit different from other parts of the world.  
 
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My Dad told me that bees eat honey to produce wax from the gland mentioned above and that it takes 7 lb of honey to make 1 lb of wax. That is why beekeepers give the bees frames already set up with foundation wax, which they can then draw out to make the comb and they won't have to eat all that honey.  I've never checked that but he knew a lot about bees.
 
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Bee facts from a beekeeper.
1. bees eat honey (carbs) to produce wax from a set of special glands on the abdomen when they are about 12 days old. it is extruded what looks like white flakes which the bees chew - manipulate with their mouth parts to form it into comb.
2. wax is white when "fresh" due to bees not wiping their feet like good children the comb darkens.  New comb is usually where the honey is stored. Darker comb is the brood nest where the young is raised.
3. beekeepers routinely remove old dark comb from the brood nest.  This comb contains cocoons from the bees which along with what the bees track around the hive can become very dark even black.  
4. When beekeepers take honey they cut or scratch off the capping's which hold the honey in the cell.  These capping's are white - whiteish  - yellow and are easily melted down.  It will smell of honey. This is what you want to use for sewing, furniture polish, and lip balm.
5. Dark comb from the brood nest can be melted down - filter out the dirt, cocoons, pollen etc. - it will be any where from med to dark brown depends on ratio of comb from the brood nest (and how many years it has been used) and how much from other honey production comb there is in the mix.  
6. Cosmetic wax has been filtered and bleached to remove all impurities.  They use some harsh chemicals to clean the wax.
7. Here in North Carolina - I would suggest you call the county extension office to find a local bee club.  
8. Have you thought about becoming a beekeeper?  You just might enjoy quiet time with your bees!
I hope this helps you understand more about bees!!  
 
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here are a couple pictures from my Aunt's place on the weekend



 
Michael Cox
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Jim Webb wrote:My Dad told me that bees eat honey to produce wax from the gland mentioned above and that it takes 7 lb of honey to make 1 lb of wax. That is why beekeepers give the bees frames already set up with foundation wax, which they can then draw out to make the comb and they won't have to eat all that honey.  I've never checked that but he knew a lot about bees.



Partially correct. The wax saved by using foundation is minimal. They key advantages for the beekeeper are related to convenience.

Wax foundation is stronger - when it is time to extract it the frames are more durable in the extractor, so are more readily reused by the bees.

Foundationless beekeeping is a thing - I do it myself. You save the cost of the foundation, but it requires more active management of the combs through the year and it is less likely you will be able to reuse the combs from year to year.

With foundation the bees are guaranteed to make parallel combs. Without foundation they can draw out their com into weird and wonderful shapes.

The biggest issue I have found is that the bees need perfect conditions to make wax, and once those have passed wax building totally stops. They need lots of bees the right age (12 days to about 16 days), heat and plentiful forage available. The demographics of the colony quickly passes through the period where there are lots of bees the right age. Here in the UK I expect wax drawing to have essentially stopped by now (late summer).
 
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Michael Cox wrote:The biggest issue I have found is that the bees need perfect conditions to make wax, and once those have passed wax building totally stops. They need lots of bees the right age (12 days to about 16 days), heat and plentiful forage available. The demographics of the colony quickly passes through the period where there are lots of bees the right age. Here in the UK I expect wax drawing to have essentially stopped by now (late summer).



I never knew that! I thought that bees could make wax any time they wanted. Mind you, it's over 50 years since I had anything to do with bees, apart from a friend keeping a couple of hives in our orchard back in Warwickshire.  We should do the same where we are now, on Vancouver Island, as bees are scarce here when the fruit blossom is out. This year, few apples, no plums, no cherries.

Michael Cox wrote:Foundationless beekeeping is a thing - I do it myself. You save the cost of the foundation, but it requires more active management of the combs through the year and it is less likely you will be able to reuse the combs from year to year.

With foundation the bees are guaranteed to make parallel combs. Without foundation they can draw out their com into weird and wonderful shapes.



So you'd have to crush the comb to extract the honey, as you would for heather honey, or eat it as cut comb? I have heard of people keeping bees in hollowed out logs and If you only wanted them for pollination purposes, I suppose that would be just fine.

 
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Another beekeeper here.   Most of what is posted is pretty much correct.  The beeswax you buy commercially can be anything.   Good wax should smell like honey.  How soft it is depends on how old it is.  New wax is buttery soft, older wax can be almost as hard as plastic. With mixed wax, it's normally in the middle.  

Michael Cox, in the summer, even during drought or dearth, you can get your bees to draw out comb by feeding them THIN sugar syrup, no thicker than 1:1, but better yet 1.3 parts water to 1 part sugar.    I currently have a batch of splits I've made, and they are currently drawing frames out well despite being in the dearth.    Nectar is generally only 15-20% sugar, so light syrup sends the message that a flow is on, and it's time to build.    The thicker the syrup, the more they want to store it and clog up the brood area.      

Here is a Bob Binnie video series you might find interesting:  
  Probably pretty boring if you aren't into bees.

The trick is to feed only a trickle.  Put on a quart jar and only punch two little holes in the lid, or maybe three for a bigger hive.   That way, they get a steady trickle of sugar, and they won't put it away, but will use it to raise brood and build comb.   It takes about a week to notice increased activity, but after a couple of weeks they will start brooding up, but once they start brooding, they will make a ton of wax.  Just keep the flow going slow but steady.

I mostly use wax foundation with crimped wire reinforcement, and it works great, but new, white comb is fragile, and you have to be really careful with extracting.   I've gotten pretty good at it and will only break one or two frames out of 50.  I use those for cut comb honey, which customers really love.

I hope this was helpful.
 
Michael Cox
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Tony Hillel wrote:
Michael Cox, in the summer, even during drought or dearth, you can get your bees to draw out comb by feeding them THIN sugar syrup, no thicker than 1:1, but better yet 1.3 parts water to 1 part sugar.



As I said, you need a flow, bees of the right ages, and heat. You are describing an artificial flow, so without feeding those bees would be very slow to draw comb.  

There are lots of ways to manipulate bees to do things that they would otherwise not.
 
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Michael Cox wrote:As I said, you need a flow, bees of the right ages, and heat. You are describing an artificial flow, so without feeding those bees would be very slow to draw comb.  

There are lots of ways to manipulate bees to do things that they would otherwise not.



It sounded like you were having a hard time getting comb drawn at this time of year, so I was just trying to be helpful.   Did not mean to insult.
 
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All very good discussions.

I use to keep bees in the good ole days and usually donated my wax to the local bee club I belonged to.  The mappings mostly came out beautiful yellow while the brood frames took a bit more work to get away from darker colors.

I don't have anything else i can add different to this very informative conversation other than to say thank you for asking us and enjoy the fascinating world of bees!
 
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