340 Beekeeping 



Special 'production oj wax. 



In the previous discussion it is assumed that beeswax 

 is always a by-product of the apiary, but the manipulation 

 of bees for the production of wax is a phase of beekeeping 

 which might well be tried in some_ tropical or sub-tropical 

 regions. If the honey is of low grade and the cost of trans- 

 portation is excessive, this should be tried. In Hawaii the 

 author advised ' that by special manipulations the honey- 

 dew honey be converted into wax and this has been tried. 

 While the manipulation is reported not materially to have 

 reduced the output of honey-dew honey it did increase the 

 wax considerably. In Porto Rico and in other tropical 

 countries there are good locations from which the transpor- 

 tation of honey is almost impossible and the author advised ^ 

 that this be tested out in Porto Rico. There are records 

 in bee journals of this being done with success in such lo- 

 calities but details are lacking so that to the present the sub- 

 ject is one chiefly of speculation. It is usually beheved 

 that from seven to twenty pounds of honey are consumed 

 in the building of one pound of comb and in the literature 

 the preference is given to the higher estimates. However, 

 bees appear to build comb much more quickly than usual 

 under some conditions, and this suggests that because of 

 some physiological condition the building of comb is more 

 economical. Careful work as to the cost of wax in terms of 

 honey is greatly needed, as well as tests as to the possibility 

 of producing wax where honey is worth only about three cents 

 a pound at the apiary. 



Uses of beeswax. 



The only way in which the beekeeper utilizes beeswax 

 to any extent in his work is in the form of comb-foundation. 

 This is made of thin sheets of pure beeswax embossed with 



1 Phillips, E. F., 1909. A brief survey of Hawaiian beekeeping, U. S. 

 Dept. of Agric. Bureau of Entomology, Bui. 75, Pt. V. 



2 Phillips, E. F., 1914. Porto Rican beekeeping. Bui. 15, P. R. Agric. 

 Exp. Station. 



