Rendering Bees Wax

When people find out I am a beekeeper, the second question they usually ask is what do I do with all of the honey. What they really should be asking is what do I do with all of the more valuable bee hive by-product, the lovely golden yellow bees wax.

Honeybees are amazing creatures. In their tiny bodies they pack a variety of glands including ones on their undersides that produce literally slivers of wax. Flowers have to be producing nectar to trigger the glands to work so beekeepers may feed their colonies sugar water to stimulate the wax production.

Once packed on top of one another, the wax forms the intricate network of wax comb in which bees store pollen, nectar and larvae, the three basic components of a bee colony.

It takes eight pounds of honey to make one pound of wax, so to a beekeeper, wax is golden and obviously more valuable than honey. Besides all of the ways people use wax – for candles, lip balm, mustache grooming – wax is also a reusable product in a hive. Beekeepers can re-coat the frames to help bees draw out more comb. The wax can also be made into the frame foundation that guides bees in setting up shop.

To be able to reuse wax, a beekeeper can heat wax to melt it enough to store it until it can be used again.

Don’t use your regular cooking pots to do this, I purchased a pot at a local thrift store and have it stored in my garage with my other beekeeping supplies. While you are at it, pick up an old colander, too. Neither one of these items are re-usable after you use them to render wax.

Also remember wax is flammable so never leave heated wax unattended or close to an open flame.

To melt wax on a stove, place the wax in water in a pot and stir until the wax melts into a waxy soup. You will know its ready to pour out of the pot when all of the wax is melted.

Add cheesecloth to a beekeeping-dedicated colander sitting over a bucket half-filled or less with water. You will be pouring more water into that bucket.

Once the wax is all melted, carefully pour the wax soup into a colander to collect any residue and let the remainder fall into the water.

Allow it to cool.

Once cooled the wax has cooled, you will find a disk of wax floating on top of the water.

To purify it further, you can heat it up again, pour it through another layer of cheesecloth in a colander and pour it into another bucket of cold water until the wax doesn’t have any impurities. You can mix lots of wax, too.

Store in a tight container until you want to use. Don’t try to store the un-rendered wax, it does not keep well and will decompose.

Oh, the first question?

They want to know how many times I get stung.

Charlotte Ekker Wiggins is a beekeeper, gardener and sometimes cook. Published by El Dorado Springs Sun once in print and online with author’s permission. Copyright 2017, all rights reserved. This column may not be reprinted, republished or otherwise distributed without author’s permission. Contact Charlotte at gardeningcharlotte at gmail dot com.

BEES WAX SOUP – Heating up bees wax is like making a soup, the wax parts are heated up in water until it completely dissolves.

KEEP MELTNG – The finished product can be melted down several times until most particles are removed. ((Photos by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins).