SUNSHINE and STRENGTH . . .
Bees wax is one of natures true miracles - what other living creature can produce the most important material for the colony`s life from its own body ?
The comb in a hive is central to every part of each bee`s short life . . . I think of it as the womb, where eggs are laid and hatch into adult bees, where their food, nectar and pollen is stored, wax is thermal and keeps the bees warm over winter, is built so air can be circulated through the hive over summer - the comb determines the life and how that life is lived for every bee in the colony.
"Wax is produced in eight groups of glands arranged in pairs on the ventral side of the last 4 segments of the bee abdomen. This area, beneath which the wax glands lie, can be seen s smooth surfaces, the so called wax mirrors. The wax glands develop slowly, needing afew days before they achieve their full size. They reach their peak performance in worker bees, between about the 12th and 13th day of their lives, and then degenerate. Should the need arise, older bees can again become `wax gland young`, the wax glands of a significant proportion of the bees will regain their top performance in a colony." (The Buzz about Bees by Jurgen Tautz)
Once the wax comes out of the glands it hardens to a white sliver, is passed to the mandibles, mixed with a secretion of the mandibular glands and worked into a consistency the bees can shape into the 6 sided cells. When bees need to build a new home the production of wax heightens with combs being built day and night, so the queen can begin laying and the next generation will be born.
It is so important for bees to beable to make new clean wax for their hive - old wax has been found to have traces of many different chemicals and disease - one of my main reasons for keeping bees naturally without using wax foundation, is to let the bees be bees - follow their natural cycle and at least have a pesticide free home to begin with !
"Wax is produced in eight groups of glands arranged in pairs on the ventral side of the last 4 segments of the bee abdomen. This area, beneath which the wax glands lie, can be seen s smooth surfaces, the so called wax mirrors. The wax glands develop slowly, needing afew days before they achieve their full size. They reach their peak performance in worker bees, between about the 12th and 13th day of their lives, and then degenerate. Should the need arise, older bees can again become `wax gland young`, the wax glands of a significant proportion of the bees will regain their top performance in a colony." (The Buzz about Bees by Jurgen Tautz)
Once the wax comes out of the glands it hardens to a white sliver, is passed to the mandibles, mixed with a secretion of the mandibular glands and worked into a consistency the bees can shape into the 6 sided cells. When bees need to build a new home the production of wax heightens with combs being built day and night, so the queen can begin laying and the next generation will be born.
It is so important for bees to beable to make new clean wax for their hive - old wax has been found to have traces of many different chemicals and disease - one of my main reasons for keeping bees naturally without using wax foundation, is to let the bees be bees - follow their natural cycle and at least have a pesticide free home to begin with !