NATURAL WAXES 365 



but the wax obtained from them differs little in physical or chemical charac- 

 teristics. Although the production of beeswax is especially widespread, 

 the principal sources are the Portuguese colonies, where the yearly export is 

 reported as 1,213,000 tons.^^" Vansell and Bisson''^' have given the follow- 

 ing chemical and physical constants for pure beeswax: acid value, 17.0; 

 iodine number (Hanus), 5.8; saponification value, 84.4; ash content, near 

 0; melting point, 64.0° ± 0.9°C.; solidifying point, 63.5° ± 0.9°C.; and 

 refractive index, 1.4402. Beeswax is readily soluble in ether, chloroform, 

 and carbon tetrachloride, partially soluble in cold benzene and carbon di- 

 sulfide, and slightly soluble in cold alcohol. Beeswax is insoluble in water. 

 It dissolves in triglycerides, but not in mineral oils. 



The approximate chemical composition of beeswax is given in Table 11. 



b'. Ghedda Wax: Ghedda or gedda wax was formerly known as East 

 Indian beeswax, and is now considered to be a wax produced by any bee 

 other than the honey bee. Apis mellifica. The wax comes chiefly from three 

 species, i.e., A. indica F., A. florea ¥., and A. dorsata F. Its production is 

 centered in India and the East Indian region, although Japan, Korea, and 

 the Philippines also produce it. Warth^ has listed the following con- 

 stants for ghedda wax: acid value, 3.5-10.5; iodine number (Hiibl), 4.8- 

 11.4; saponification value, 86-130; ester value, 69-123; melting point, 

 60.4-66.4°C.; solidification point, 60°C.; refractive index (80°C.), 1.4404; 

 and specific gravity (15 °C.), 0.956-0.973. The chemical composition of 

 ghedda wax is given in Table 12. 



(6) Waxes from Melipona and Trigona. The so-called "stingless" bee or 

 dammar bee belongs to the Melipona or Trigona species. These were the 

 only types in America prior to the introduction of the Apis variety after 

 the discovery of America. These species are still favored in Mexico and in 

 Central American countries. Stingless bee wax is also available from 

 Brazil, Trinidad, and India. Warth^ has indicated an average composition 

 of stingless bee wax as follows: 



Alkyl esters of monobasic acids (mj'ricyl palmitate, coryl hj^droxymargar- 



ate, myricyl cerotate) 3o% 



Saponifiable sticky resinous matter 14% 



Free fatty acids (cerotic, myricinic, unidentified unsaturated) 12.3% 



Hydrocarbons (hentriacontane, unidentified) 7.3% 



CeUidosir, siieroprolein, and mineral matter 31 .5% 



^3" C. Lepierre and A. Carvalho, Chimie A Industrie, 29, Special Nos. 1087-1093 

 (19:33); Chem. Abst., 28, 356 (1934). Cited by A. H. Warth, The Chemistry and Tech- 

 nology of Waxes, Reinhold, New York, 1947, p. 41. 



^^' CJ. H. Vansell and C. S. Bis-son, U. S. Depl. Ayr., Bur. Entomol., Plant Quarantine. 

 EJ,95, 1-11, Fttb., 1940. Cited by A. H. Warth, The Chemistry and Technology of Waxes, 

 Reinhold, New York, 1947, p. 44; Chem. Abst., 34, 3118 (1940). 



