Nov. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 823 



The Production of Bees-wax* 



W. A. GOODACRE, Senior Apiary Inspector. 



Bees-wax, in the first instance, is secreted by the worker bees through 

 scales in the lower portion of .the body, and to enable the bees to secrete 

 vtax to any extent a good supply of honey or syrup must be consumed. 

 There appears to be no definite basis of calculation as to the consumption of 

 honey necessary to produce 1 lb. of wax, but it has been proved by tests 

 that the assistance given to the bees by using full sheets of comb-foundation 

 is so considerable, that — apart from its other advantages — the practice pays. 

 It can be said that a certain quantity of wax could be produced naturally 

 during heavy honey flows M'ithout noticeable loss, but to provide for this, 

 and make extra wax production possible, the practical apiarist has to adopt 

 the wider spacing for extracting combs, which, when built out, are cut 

 down to normal again during extracting. Also, there is usually a number of 

 new combs to build out from foundation. 



The market for good quality bees-wax is almost invariably good, yet there 

 is much waste of this valuable product in many localities — and usually 

 through neglect to melt up surplus or damaged combs, or, if the melting is 

 done, to carry out the operation properly. With a small wax press 

 (described later), £4 to £5 may be earned in a day by treating damaged 

 combs, so that even with a small quantity it pays to treat such combs 

 properly. The careless bee-keeper often spreads disease to a neighbouring 

 apiar}' by leaving about old damaged combs, frequently allowing combs 

 attacked by wax moths to go to waste, and afterwards purchasing foundation 

 at a high price. In seasons after drought more care than usual is 

 necessary. Let the apiarist who has unsatisfactory or damaged combs 

 serve his own interests by melting them up, thereby (1) keeping the locality 

 clean, (2) minimising the risk of spreading disease, and (3) increasing his 

 production of wax and his i-eturns. Under the Apiaries Act, wax moth is a 

 proclaimed disease, and with infested combs on hand apiarists are likely to 

 meet trouble when the inspector calls. 



When bees are building comb they hang in narrow graceful clusters. 

 Hanging thus, when strips of foundation are used, the cluster acts as a kind 

 of plumb-line. As the bees build in the line in which they hang, the 

 necessity of keeping the hives level will be obvious, though a slight dip 

 toward the entrance is not of importance. 



The natural colour of bees-wax is yellow, but by bleaching it can be 

 lightened in colour even to pure white. Wax can be bleached by moulding 

 it into thin sheets, and exposing these in the sunlight. Dark colour in wax 

 may result if rusted iron or galvanized vessels are used for melting. 



