In the previous blog post of this series, we looked into paraffin wax, tallow, and stearin wax. In this blog post, we will look into another popular animal wax: beeswax.
Beeswax
As the name implies, beeswax is made from wax produced by bees. It is relatively soft and stickier than other waxes. There are two main types of beeswax candles: solid beeswax and honeycomb wax. Solid beeswax candles can be made by melting the capping wax or an empty comb in boiling water and then pouring into a mould, or by continuously dipping a wick into the melted wax. The dipping method is used to create taper candles.
Cappings or capping wax is a thin layer of beeswax that seals or “caps” the honey in each comb. This is considered the best type of beeswax for candle making. The process of removing the caps is known as uncapping. There are various methods for uncapping, but it usually involves heating the honey and then using a thin, hot knife to cut off the caps on both sides of the cells (individual combs) so that they fall into a basket.
After the cappings are removed and the honey extracted, the empty combs may be left (returned to the bees) so that they don’t have to make more, or they can be broken down and melted. Combs contain more pollen, propolis (bee resin; a resinous compound produced by bees), and bee bits and usually requires more filtration. Solid beeswax is known for having a relatively high melting point, which translates into a longer burn time.
For honeycomb beeswax candles, a sheet of honeycomb texture wax is rolled. This method creates a looser structure with more air, and results in a faster burning candle.
The exact composition, colour, and scent depends on the geographic location and diet (nearby crop) of the bees. Pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals used on the crop that the bees feed on and pollinate play a major role in the health of the bees and the quality of the honey and wax. Raw beeswax generally has a golden colour, though white wax can also be obtained through bleaching. The bleaching process may use toxic compounds. For this reason, many candle makers or manufacturers choose not to do it.
In candles, the strong honey scent may not blend well with other fragrances and may mask other scents. Bleached or chemically altered beeswax may not contain as strong of a smell, or may have a medicinal smell. Even without the strong scent, the wax may still not blend well with other fragrance oils and may end up with a poor scent throw. Scent throw refers to the strength and radius of the fragrances emitted from the candle.
Worker bees are sterile female bees who support the hive by collecting food, feeding larvae, and maintaining the structure of the honeycombs. Foraging worker bees go out and collect nectar and pollen. This nectar is ingested, where it mixes with special enzymes in the bees’ saliva, and then stored in a nectar “sac” (also called a pollen pouch or honey stomach) that is separate from their food stomach.
Once the sac or stomach is full (a load that is close to the bee’s own weight), she returns to the hive, where the nectar may be directly deposited into the cells of the comb or transferred tongue-to-tongue to one or more of the younger hive worker bees. Most of the nectar will thicken and become honey through a process of evaporation (dehydration), but some will be turned into beeswax. How often the nectar is transferred depends on the moisture content. It is usually passed on until the moisture content is reduced by around 70% to 80%.
Young hive worker bees have developed special wax producing glands on their abdomens. After consuming the honey or nectar, the wax producing glands convert the sugar into wax. The wax is extruded as small flakes through tiny pores. The bees then chew the flakes with more honey to make them soft and malleable for shaping into honeycombs. These honeycombs consist of hexagon (six-sided) shaped cylinders that fit side by side. This is the most efficient shape for the storage of honey, using the least amount of wax to contained the highest volume of honey.
The temperature of the hive is also maintained so that the beeswax doesn’t get too hot and melt, or too low or cold, where it becomes brittle.
These combs serve as storage for honey and nectar and a place to raise their brood. The stored honey provides food for the next generation of bees and acts as winter food stores, to provide nourishment during the cold months when nectar cannot be collected.
Once a cell is full of honey or nectar, the bees add a layer of wax over the cell to seal it. This creates an airtight container that allows the honey to keep for a long time.
A bee needs to consume approximately 6 to 8 pounds of nectar or honey to produce a pound of wax. A queen honey bee may live for three to four years, though domesticated honey queen bees may have a shorter lifespan to due some beekeepers “re-queening” the hive frequently, while a worker bee has a lifespan of only five to seven weeks during the colony’s active season.
The worker bees continuously work to collect nectar, produce honey, clean cells, guard the hive, build and repair combs, and feed and care for the larvae.
It is due to the hardworking nature of bees that many people choose not to use beeswax. They feel that it is a form of animal exploitation, and that using the honey and beeswax is the same as stealing. It is true that, if honey is removed, the bees will work harder to replenish it. It is also true that there are many beekeeping practices that are harmful to the bees.
These bee farmers (many of which are large-scale commercial companies who work to produce enough honey and wax to meet high demands for its use in a variety of food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical applications) may: remove all the honey and replace it with a sugar solution that is less nutritious; move the hives to track seasonal crops which can stress the bees, put them in danger of overheating or suffocation, and expose them to new diseases and pesticides; clip the queen bee’s wings to prevent her from flying and leaving the prime swarm; and may contaminate the honey, expose the bees to harmful chemicals, or burn them through the incorrect use of bee smokers.
While these types of harmful practices do exist, there are also ethical practices that help maintain the health of the bee colony while still harvesting the honey and wax. These beekeepers care about the health and well-being of the bees and will take only the excess honey that the colony can afford to lose, and then leave them the rest. They will also use the capping wax and liquid honey, while leaving the comb intact so that the bees can reuse it instead of rebuilding it.
Allowing the bees to pollinate more crops instead of only one also increases the strength of their immune system.
Smoking is a technique used to calm the bees. This has two effects. The smoke is sensed by the bees, who interpret is as being an indication of a forest fire. The colony prepares to move the hive by storing as much honey as they can. They gorge on the honey and then become lethargic and less likely to sting.
The smoke can also mask the bee pheromones. Pheromones are substances released by an animal that produce a change in sexual or social behaviour of other members of the same species. When a threat is sensed, the bee releases an alarm pheromone to warn the other bees. The smoke interferes with this communication and can confuse the bees, allowing the beekeeper to work on the hive without agitating them.
So long as the right fuel is used (made with natural material such as pine cones, wood chips, and cartons without the use of harmful chemicals), the smoker isn’t too hot, there isn’t too much smoke, and it is used in moderation, then it hasn’t been shown to cause short-term or long-term harm to the bees.
The harvesting of honey and wax has been blamed for contributing to the loss of bees, but it is habitat destruction and the increase in genetic modification, parasites, pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants and harsh chemicals that play a major role in the survival of the bee.
In addition, bees are important pollinators, but they are not the only ones. There are many other important pollinating insect species such as butterflies, moths, flies, and beetles. Having bees shipped around the world (known as relocation) to pollinate commercial crops for the agriculture industry can do more harm than good. It can stress the bees, and non-native species can become invaders that compete (and sometimes outcompete) with native species and can bring new diseases.
Nevertheless, bees play a vital role in pollination, and beekeeping may help play a role in increasing bee populations.
Many people see the relationship between bees and beekeeper as a symbiotic one that benefits both the human and the bees. The beekeeper can provide better shelter or protection during winter, and in return takes surplus honey.
Beeswax contains natural sugar, water, minerals, vitamins, pollen, protein, and traces of bee enzyme. The fact that honey and beeswax are the products of an animal (the bee) and contain traces of bee enzyme, they are generally not considered vegan. Although they are sometimes referred to as “plant-based animal products” since they primarily consists of plant material, they are ultimately still a product of the bee. For this reason, many vegans may choose not to use either honey or beeswax.
Some claim that beeswax candles emit negative ions that clear the air of pollen, bacteria, dust, mould spores, and other airborne particles by binding to positively charged ions and then making them fall to the ground due to the increased weight. However, all candles have been shown to emit negative ions. There is no conclusive evidence or study to show how much negative ions are released.
The heat of a burning candle will incinerate some of the dust and other harmful airborne particles, but, as a result of the combustion process, will also release carbon dioxide, water vapour, a small amount of carbon monoxide, smoke and any other chemical or volatile organic compounds from added fragrances or colours. While this doesn’t mean that a candle should never be burned, it makes it unlikely that any candle is able to help purify the air.
A properly made, 100% pure, naturally scented beeswax candle is one of the cleanest and longest burning. It is more expensive, but longer lasting than other candles. Over time, beeswax candles may develop a whitish powder that is known as “bloom.” This bloom occurs in pure cappings beeswax and is the result of natural components of the wax migrating to the surface, where they eventually crystallize. This effect is more likely to occur when the wax has been subjected to many temperature changes, and can be removed by buffing the candle with a soft cloth or by using a blow dryer on low setting.
Beeswax candles have been considered hypoallergenic and are virtually dripless. Organic beeswax cannot truly exist since the bees are free to travel wherever they want to collect the nectar and there is no way to completely monitor them. Having the hive located near organically grown crops, though, does help protect the bees and decreases their exposure to harmful chemicals.
In the next blog post in this series, we will look into plant based waxes.
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