Beewax

[ABM Nazmul Islam]

Glands under the abdomen of bees secrete a wax, which they use to construct the
honeycomb. The wax is recovered as a by-product when the honey is harvested and refined. It
contains a high proportion of wax esters (35 to 80%). The hydrocarbon content is highly variable,
and much may be “unnatural” as beekeepers may feed some to bees to improve the yield of
honey. The wax esters consist of C40 to C46 molecular species, based on 16:0 and 18:0 fatty acids
some with hydroxyl groups in the omega-2 and omega-3 positions. In addition, some diesters with
up to 64 carbons may be present, together with triesters, hydroxypolyesters and free acids (which
are different in composition and nature from the esterified acids).