Bees for Development Journal 126 March 2018
FACTS ABOUT WAX Part 1: Beeswax in apiculture Dr Wolfgang Ritter is from BEES for the World, which supports African beekeepers to produce top quality beeswax and sell it on the European market while promoting the African way of beekeeping, most favourable for bees, beekeepers and the environment. The income from sales will be refunded to support African beekeeping communities via training provided by Bees for Development. We asked Dr Ritter to prepare an article for Bees for Development Journal from one previously published in a German magazine. This is the first of three parts.
Photo © Wolfgang Ritter
Dr Wolfgang Ritter
Building cluster: comb construction requires a lot of communication and coordination between the individual building clusters. This represents an important action within the colony and is essential for bee vitality
Survey of knowledge
Bees secreting wax: the wax emerges from the bee’s abdominal glands and solidifies into small platelets Photo © A Spürgin
Beeswax used to be more valuable than honey. With the increasing importance of electricity and synthetic wax, beeswax lost its key role. Now that the focus is more on nature, beeswax has come back into the spotlight. Wax prices are steadily rising, because it is increasingly difficult to find low-residue wax or residue-free wax. This tempts some people to adulterate wax with additives reducing the quality of wax products as well as bee health. Within the European Union and beyond, there are calls to introduce quality standards similar to those defined in the Codex Alimentarius for honey.
Beeswax production by bees Wax is produced in the abdominal glands of 12–18 day worker bees. As soon as the liquid wax emerges from their 4
