Bees Wax Flashcards
What is the melting point of bees wax
62 degrees
List the properties of beeswax.
- Insoluble in water; slightly soluble in alcohol; soluble in chloroform, ether and benzene.
- Colourless as individual flakes, white when solid
- Melts at 62-64℃; pliable at 32-35℃ and has a flashpoint of 242-250℃.
- Relative density 0.96, i.e floats on water.
- Reacts with alkalis to make soap.
- Acidity 17-24. Note: This means 17-24 mg KOH/g (KOH - Potassium Hydroxide)
Outline how the wax from used combs and clean capping’s is recovered. 7
• Cappings:
• After honey has been drained off, place in container and feed back to bees above the
crown board.
• Remove discoloured pieces of wax.
• Heat wax to not more than 90℃ and filter through lint. If a second filtration is
required filter through a filter paper.
• Used Comb. This can either be done in a solar wax extractor or heating tray.
• Comb is placed in the solar extractor. As it melts it runs down the slope into a
container. It can then be washed in soft water to remove any honey. The dross can
be scraped away.
• Combs are placed on a stainless steel shallow water bath. The wax melts, passes
through a metal mesh and out through a spout into a receptacle below.
List 3 uses of beeswax
• Making candles, cosmetics or polishes + wax foundation, creams and ointments.
Describe briefly the process of recovering beeswax and usable honey from 10kg of wet cappings. The honey ending up in a bucket and the beeswax made into blocks suitable for exchange into sheets of foundation. Include temperatures in ℃ and approximate time
durations.
• I use a cold uncapping tray. The wax cappings drop onto a mesh floor that sits above a tray. When uncapping is complete, a cover is placed over the top and the honey left overnight to drain through. This process is helped by placing the tray on a rack above
the AGA. The next day the honey can be run off from the tap in the bottom tray, through a filter into a bucket.
• The wax cappings can be placed small quantities at a time in a large tin with the bottom removed. Fix a piece of soft cloth to the bottom with a jubilee clip.
• Suspend in the oven with a container underneath and set the temperature to just under 90℃ and keep feeding the top tin with cappings. This could take many hours so just keep warm at night and check regularly when you are up and about.
• Periodically remove the collection bowl and pour the contents into a plastic container having first wiped the bottom and edges of that container with a soapy cloth. Allow the wax to cool completely. On cooling it should shrink away from the sides of the container. If not the soapy nature should ensure it is easy to release.
• Scrape the dross off the bottom. This block is now ready to be exchanged.
• Continue the process until all the wax has been processed.
Starting with small blocks how can beeswax be prepared for the show bench. 8
- Obtain a 6in oven proof glass bowl. Polish the inside of the bowl with jeweller’s rouge (or Brasso) until your arm hurts.
- Wash and rinse thoroughly then place in plastic bag until required.
- Select your very best wax. Filter between 65 to 90C through lint (fluffy side inside) twice. Then filter through filter paper such as a coffee filter.
- Take your bowl. There is no need for a releasing agent. The inside should be absolutely dry and sparkly.
- Heat the mould and a piece of thick glass big enough to cover the mould to 70C,
- Gently pour the required amount of wax as set by the show rules into the mould. If there are any bubbles prick them as they surface.
- Put the glass and the mould in the warming oven at 70C making sure it is level.
- Allow to cool slowly. The aim is to allow the wax to cool at such a rate that it sets throughout the wax at the same time.
- It is now time to release the block and it’s tricky. Place the bowl upside down over a folded tea towel so that no damage is done when it drops away. If it doesn’t come first time, give it a gentle tap. If it still doesn’t move, place half an inch of cold water on top of the mould with 4-5 ice cubes and place in the fridge. Within 30 minutes the block should float up.
- Remove any flakes from around the edge. Polish with lint soaked in methylated spirits.
- Exhibit in a glass case
How is propolis collected and used by the bees?
I think this is a naughty question as it seems to fall outside the syllabus.
- Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees from trees such as conifers and beech, especially around a wound in a tree. Bees pull pieces off with their mandibles, moisten it and transfer it to their pollen baskets for passage back to the hive.
- Unlike pollen, the foraging bee is unable to offload the propolis ball by itself, it needs help from the house bees.
- The propolis forager goes to the place where the propolis is required and the house bee(s) use their mandibles to remove the propolis and put in place.
- Propolis has anti-microbial properties. It is used to line cells prior to the queen laying, it is used as a bacterial shield on the inside walls of the hive.
- It is used to make the hive airtight and waterproof by sealing gaps and reducing the entrance. It is used to embalm the carcasses of intruders.
- In the wild it has a key role in helping to stabilise a colony’s nest.
Describe how to treat the cappings after extracting honey to recover as much honey and wax as possible
• I use a cold uncapping tray. The wax cappings drop onto a mesh floor that sits above a tray. When uncapping is complete, a cover is placed over the top and the honey left overnight to drain through. This process is helped by placing the tray on a rack above
the AGA. The next day the honey can be run off from the tap in the bottom tray, through a filter into a bucket.
• The wax cappings can be placed small quantities at a time in a large tin with the bottom removed. Fix a piece of soft cloth to the bottom with a jubilee clip.
• Suspend in the oven with a container underneath and set the temperature to just under 90℃ and keep feeding the top tin with cappings. This could take many hours so just keep warm at night and check regularly when you are up and about.
• Periodically remove the collection bowl and pour the contents into a plastic container having first wiped the bottom and edges of that container with a soapy cloth. Allow the wax to cool completely. On cooling it should shrink away from the sides of the container. If not the soapy nature should ensure it is easy to release.
• Scrape the dross off the bottom. This block is now ready to be exchanged.
• Continue the process until all the wax has been processed.
How do bees collect pollen and how is it transported back to the hive
Bees collect pollen and gather it into their pollen baskets positioned on the hind legs - Corbicula,
What is the name given to the mess on the bottom of the wax when it has been melted as part of the cleaning process.
Slumgum
List the necessary components of a well designed solar wax extractor 6
- A good sized box, big enough to hold 2 or 3 frames which has been full lined with layers of insulation.
- Final layer of insulation is covered with reflective materials.
- The box has a waterproof lid made of glass even better if double glazed and angled towards the sun.
- My box is placed on a lazy Susan, which allows me to rotate the box as the sun moves across the sky.
- The old wax and frames can be placed in the box on an elevated mesh tray that allows the liquid wax to run through. Make sure to mention 40 degrees angle to the sun.
- make sure that it is totally bee and wasp proof.
- There is a collection tray that allows the strained clean wax to be collected on the floor of the box. If I have a lot of chunks of wax, burcomb etc. this can be placed in ladies tights and a knot made at the top. The tights collect the slumgum whilst allowing the clean wax to flow through.
What is the main advantage of a solar wax extractor.
Solar once set up can be operated at no cost as it is powered by the sun. It also can be safely left unattended. Will sterilise and kill wax moth, nosema.
