The Production Of Wax

Beeswax, which is secreted by the bees and used by them for building their combs, is an important commercial product. There are times in almost every apiary when there are combs to be melted up, and it pays to take care of even scraps of comb and the cappings taken off in extracting. A common method of taking out the wax is to melt the combs in a solar wax extractor. This is perhaps the most feasible method where little wax is produced, but considerable wax still remains in old brood combs after such heating. Various wax presses are on the market, or one can be made at home. If much wax is produced, the bee keeper should make a careful study of the methods of wax extraction, as there is usually much wax wasted even after pressing.