Product of the hive : wax

Where does the wax come from ?

Artist and craftsman, mason and architect, the wax bee aligns in a harmonious block hexagonal wax urns, the alveoli, which will be at the same time cradles of the young larvae and attic for honey.

These are the combs of the hive. Bees need wax to form the combs but also the opercules, small lids that close the cells when they are full of honey or contain a nine-day-old larva.

To produce this wax, bees hang in clusters and secrete thin, colorless, translucent films from their abdominal wax glands.

Wax is therefore not a plant production, but a voluntary secretion of bees. They extract these films from their abdomen by means of their hind legs, bring them to their mouth and chew them with their mandibles, impregnating them with saliva, which makes them more malleable.

They are then glued together until they form the honeycomb in a perfect geometric shape. The combs built by the bees must be changed every three years. The beekeeper recovers the wax from the combs and cappings, after the honey has been extracted, by melting them in different ways.