The first step corresponds to the absorption of glucose (with 6 carbon atoms), a component of honey, in the intestine of the young bee. Through a metabolic process analogous to that of humans, this glucose is split into smaller fragments (pyruvate with 3, then acetyl-CoA with 2 carbon atoms). These are then reassembled into longer chains in the wax glands to form fatty acids (carbon chains with a hydrophobic end) and hydrocarbons (chains composed solely of carbon and hydrogen atoms). Other longer chains (esters and alcohols) are also synthesised and form part of native wax. This occurs in the form of small, rounded wax scales 2–3 mm wide and about 0.1 mm thick, weighing less than 0.8 mg. Initially translucent, the wax becomes opaque after mastication and the incorporation of pollen by worker bees (builders).

From an energetic perspective, the production of one kilogram of wax requires the consumption of approximately 7–10 kg of honey. Builder bees knead the wax scales to shape the cells, which are always arranged head-to-head, gradually applying the scales like bricks in a wall. The final hexagonal shape is partly due to the wax temperature required for shaping (around 40 °C) and partly to mandibular scraping of the cell walls to remove excess material and optimise the strength-to-weight ratio.

It is therefore clear that when food is not abundant, wax-producing bees do not produce wax, and when the temperature inside the hive is too low, builder bees cannot construct combs because the energetic cost would be too high. It should be remembered that a captured swarm must be fed in order to build the foundation sheets introduced into the nucleus hive.

A hive produces on average 250–500 g of wax per year. A worker cell is approximately 12 mm deep and 5.5–6 mm in diameter; it therefore has a volume of about 0.3 cm³ and can contain around 0.5 g of honey or 0.4 g of pollen (20 pairs of pollen loads). A comb of 1 dm² contains a total of about 850 cells on its two faces and weighs around 12 g. Wax melts at approximately 63 °C and has a specific gravity of about 0.96. It is insoluble in water but soluble in petroleum and benzine, as it is partly composed of hydrocarbons.

*Older bees can dedifferentiate and recondition their glands to produce wax again, for example to cap new brood in February after the resumption of egg laying.

---

See also:

• Beeswax – A Very Precious Resource
• Wax and Combs
• Wax as a Component of Propolis
• Beeswax Contaminations
• The Geometric Mind of Bees
• Beeswax Has Been Used for 10,000 Years

Bibliography

• http://au-bal-des-avettes.over-blog.com/article-les-cirieres-52732403.html
• http://home.citycable.ch/apiland/sld004.htm
• https://www.agrireseau.net/apiculture/Documents/Preparation%20de%20la%20cire%20d%20abeille.pdf
• http://www.catoire-fantasque.be/animaux/abeille/cire/
• https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cire_d%27abeille
• http://abeilleduforez.tetraconcept.com/dossiers-techniques/pratique-apicole-a-la-miellerie/la-cire-2/
• https://bees.techno-science.ca/francais/les-abeilles/la-ruche-et-la-colonie/fabrication-cire.php

 

Glossary

Glucose (6 carbon atoms schematised in linear or cyclic form)

Fatty acid (4–36 carbon atoms in an even number, including a carboxyl group –C(O)OH)

Ester (contains a carbon atom simultaneously bonded to an oxygen atom by a double bond and to an alkoxy group of the type R-COO-R')

Hydrocarbon:

Alcohol (a carbon chain in which one of the carbon atoms is bonded to a hydroxyl group)