BEESWAX

CAS NUMBER: 8012-89-3

EC NUMBER: 232-383-7

Beeswax (cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. 
Beeswax is generally available as yellow, white, or bleached. 
Yellow beeswax comes directly from the honeycomb, while white and bleached beeswax are processed form of yellow beeswax. 
Beeswax can be produced synthetically. 
In medicine, beeswax is used for lowering cholesterol, for relieving pain, and for swelling (inflammation), ulcers, diarrhea, and hiccups. 
Beeswax is also used for tablet coating. 
In food industry, beeswax is used as a film to wrap cheese for maturing or as a food additive (E901) to give shine to the products, e.g. 
Beeswax is permitted for the surface treatment only of certain fruits. 

Beeswax and beeswax absolute (yellow beeswax treated with alcohol) are used as stiffening agents in beverages. 
Beeswax is also used as a carrier for colors in food. In manufacturing, yellow and white beeswax are used as thickeners, emulsifiers, and as stiffening agents in cosmetics. Beeswax absolute is used as a fragrance in soaps and perfumes. 2,3 Furthermore, beeswax can be used to polish furniture.
Beeswax is a product made from the honeycomb of the honeybee and other bees. 
The mixing of pollen oils into honeycomb wax turns the white wax into a yellow or brown color.
Beeswax is used for high cholesterol, pain, fungal skin infections, and other conditions. 
But there is no good scientific research to support these uses.
In foods and beverages, white beeswax and beeswax absolute (yellow beeswax treated with alcohol) are used as stiffening agents.
In manufacturing, yellow and white beeswax are used as thickeners, emulsifiers, and as stiffening agents in cosmetics. 
Beeswax absolute is used as a fragrance in soaps and perfumes. 
Beeswax and beeswax absolute are also used to polish pills.

Beeswax (cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. 
Beeswax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. 
The hive workers collect and use it to form cells for honey storage and larval and pupal protection within the beehive. 
Chemically, beeswax consists mainly of esters of fatty acids and various long-chain alcohols.
Beeswax has been used since prehistory as the first plastic, as a lubricant and waterproofing agent, in lost wax casting of metals and glass, as a polish for wood and leather, for making candles, as an ingredient in cosmetics and as an artistic medium in encaustic painting.
Beeswax is edible, having similarly negligible toxicity to plant waxes, and is approved for food use in most countries and in the European Union under the E number E901.
When bees, needing food, uncap honey, they drop the removed cappings and let them fall to the bottom of the hive. 

Beeswax is known for bees to rework such an accumulation of fallen old cappings into strange formations.
Beeswax is a food grade wax with a white color when it is freshly prepared. 
Later the color changes into yellow because of the presence of propolis and pollen colorants. 
The typical odor of beeswax depends on the honey, bees, propolis, and pollen. 
Beeswax is crystalline in form and it mainly depends on the storage. 
Along with the crystallization, the elasticity and stiffness of the wax also increases during storage. 
The important quality of beeswax is its hardness. At low temperatures the beeswax exhibits higher rates of elasticity. 
The heating process changes the physical properties of beeswax. 
Shrinkage of heated beeswax occurs by 10% upon cooling.
When the beeswax is heated at the temperature of 30–35°C, it attains the properties of plastics. 

Beeswax is insoluble in water and soluble in organic solvents, such as ether, acetone, xylol, benzene, chloroform, and tetrachloromethane. 
In order to completely dissolve the beeswax, the temperature must be increased beyond its melting point.
The edible coating made up of beeswax, coconut oil, and sunflower oil has been used on strawberries and apricot fruits. 
This coating showed a positive effect on the moisture loss, appearance, texture, and firmness. 
The coconut oil containing monolauric acid showed antifungal effect on the coated fruit samples (Irina, 2012). 
The edible coating of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, beeswax, and antifungal components, such as sodium methyl paraben, sodium benzoate, and sodium ethyl paraben has been studied on cherry tomatoes. 
Beeswax was found that the coating of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose–beeswax containing sodium benzoate (2%) showed a decreased rate of change in the weight or moisture loss, firmness, and respiration (Cristiane et al., 2015).
Beeswax is the material that bees use to build their nests. 

Beeswax is produced by young honeybees that secrete it as a liquid from special wax glands. 
On contact with air, the wax hardens and forms scales, which appear as small flakes of wax on the underside of the bee. 
About one million wax scales make 1 kg of wax. 
Bees use the wax to build the well-known hexagonal cells that make up their comb, a very strong and efficient structure. 
Bees use the comb cells to store honey and pollen; the queen lays her eggs in them, and young bees develop in them. 
Beeswax is produced by all species of honeybees, although the waxes produced by different species have slightly different chemical and physical properties.

Beeswax is valued according to its purity and colour. Light-coloured wax is more highly valued than dark-coloured wax, because dark wax is likely to have been contaminated or overheated. 
The finest beeswax is from wax cappings, which are the wax seals with which bees cover ripe honeycombs. 
This new wax is pure and white. The presence of pollen turns it yellow.
Made from the honeycomb of the honeybee, beeswax is the purest and most natural of all waxes. 
For each pound of beeswax provided by a honey bee, the bee visits over 30 million flowers. 
To produce one pound of wax requires the bees to consume about eight to ten pounds of honey. 
They secrete the beeswax from the underside of their abdomens, and then use the wax to construct a honeycomb.
Pure, natural, and soft Beeswax - golden in color. Beeswax has a melting point of 63°C/146°F. 
Beeswax comes in seven easy to peel wrapped sticks making it very convenient to handle. 
Very useful for sealing the ends of capillary tubes when mounting crystals.

Beeswax is the substance that forms the structure of a honeycomb; the bees secrete wax to build the honeycombs where to store honey. 
Thanks to its rich hydrophobic protective properties, the beeswax is in fact present within cosmetics and body products. 
Also, beeswax is used in the food industry: as a film to wrap cheese for maturing or as a food additive (E901) to give shine to the products. 
Exactly as the honey which it contains, beeswax is also characterized by several therapeutic properties of great interest to us; it is thought to be particularly effective in healing bruises, inflammation and burns. 
Recently, the interest of researchers has moved even on antimicrobial properties of beeswax although there are still few studies in the literature focused only on the action of beeswax. 
The few studies showed an antimicrobic effectiveness of beeswax against overall Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger; these inhibitory effects are enhanced synergistically with other natural products such as honey or olive oil. 
This minireview aims to be a collection of major scientific works that have considered the antimicrobial activity of beeswax alone or in combination with other natural products in recent years.
Beeswax, considered to be among the earliest of raw materials used by man from the time of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, was used in many ways, not the least of which was in early medicine and cosmetics.

Beeswax granules made here in the USA to the National Formulary standard. 
Their granular form make them extremely easy to work with. 
The acid number of beeswax ranges from 17 - 24; so between 57.9 - 81.5mg of borax is required from 1 gram of beeswax. 
Borax is 5 - 7% of the weight of beeswax.
Beeswax, by itself is not an emulsifier. 

When combined with Sodium Borate (aka Borax) in water, an emulsion can be made.  
This is because borax dissolves in water and produces boric acid and sodium hydroxide.  
The sodium hydroxide interacts with the cerotic acid in the beeswax (present at about 13%), neutralizing it and forming an anionic emulsifier called sodium cerotate and the boric acid acts to buffer the resulting emulsion.  
This emulsifier makes the oil and water less likely to separate and the resulting cream more stable.
Beeswax is possible to make an "emulsion" with just beeswax, oils and water, heat and a great deal of mechanical high shear mixing, these resulting "emulsions" are not inherently stable and will tend to separate on standing, or when subjected to heat.  
This is because they are solely mechanical emulsions rather than chemically based ones. 
Beeswax is also used in many anhydrous products where it thickens formulations, adds to binding strength and improves structure, oil retention, pay-off and mold release.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Beeswax is a fragrant solid at room temperature. 
The colors are light yellow, medium yellow, or dark brown and white. 
Beeswax is a tough wax formed from a mixture of several chemical compounds. 
An approximate chemical formula for beeswax is C15H31COOC30H61. 
Beeswaxs main constituents are palmitate, palmitoleate, and oleate esters of long-chain (30–32 carbons) aliphatic alcohols, with the ratio of triacontanyl palmitate CH3(CH2)29O-CO-(CH2)14CH3 to cerotic acid CH3(CH2)24COOH, the two principal constituents, being. 

Beeswax can be classified generally into European and Oriental types. 
The saponification value is lower (3–5) for European beeswax, and higher (8–9) for Oriental types.
The analytical characterization can be done by high-temperature Gas Chromatography.
Beeswax has a relatively low melting point range of 62 to 64 °C (144 to 147 °F). 
If beeswax is heated above 85 °C (185 °F) discoloration occurs. 
The flash point of beeswax is 204.4 °C (400 °F).
Triacontanyl palmitate, a wax ester, is a major component of beeswax.
When natural beeswax is cold, it is brittle, and its fracture is dry and granular. 
At room temperature (conventionally taken as about 20 °C (68 °F)), it is tenacious and it softens further at human body temperature (37 °C (99 °F)). 
The specific gravity of beeswax at 15 °C (59 °F) is from 0.958 to 0.975; that of melted beeswax at 98 to 99 °C (208.4 to 210.2 °F) (compared with water at 15.5 °C (59.9 °F)) is 0.9822.

USES:

Candle-making has long involved the use of beeswax, which burns readily and cleanly, and this material was traditionally prescribed for the making of the Paschal candle or "Easter candle". 
Beeswax candles are purported to be superior to other wax candles, because they burn brighter and longer, do not bend, and burn cleaner. 
Beeswax is further recommended for the making of other candles used in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.
Beeswax is also the candle constituent of choice in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Refined beeswax plays a prominent role in art materials both as a binder in encaustic paint and as a stabilizer in oil paint to add body.
Beeswax is an ingredient in surgical bone wax, which is used during surgery to control bleeding from bone surfaces; shoe polish and furniture polish can both use beeswax as a component, dissolved in turpentine or sometimes blended with linseed oil or tung oil; modeling waxes can also use beeswax as a component; pure beeswax can also be used as an organic surfboard wax.

Beeswax blended with pine rosin is used for waxing, and can serve as an adhesive to attach reed plates to the structure inside a squeezebox. 
Beeswax can also be used to make Cutler's resin, an adhesive used to glue handles onto cutlery knives. 
Beeswax is used in Eastern Europe in egg decoration; it is used for writing, via resist dyeing, on batik eggs (as in pysanky) and for making beaded eggs. 
Beeswax is used by percussionists to make a surface on tambourines for thumb rolls. 
Beeswax can also be used as a metal injection moulding binder component along with other polymeric binder materials.

Beeswax was formerly used in the manufacture of phonograph cylinders. 
It may still be used to seal formal legal or royal decree and academic parchments such as placing an awarding stamp imprimatur of the university upon completion of postgraduate degrees.
Purified and bleached beeswax is used in the production of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. 
The three main types of beeswax products are yellow, white, and beeswax absolute. 
Yellow beeswax is the crude product obtained from the honeycomb, white beeswax is bleached or filtered yellow beeswax, and beeswax absolute is yellow beeswax treated with alcohol. 
In food preparation, Beeswax is used as a coating for cheese; by sealing out the air, protection is given against spoilage (mold growth). 
Beeswax may also be used as a food additive E901, in small quantities acting as a glazing agent, which serves to prevent water loss, or used to provide surface protection for some fruits. 
Soft gelatin capsules and tablet coatings may also use E901. 
Beeswax is also a common ingredient of natural chewing gum. 
The wax monoesters in beeswax are poorly hydrolysed in the guts of humans and other mammals, so they have insignificant nutritional value. 
Some birds, such as honeyguides, can digest beeswax. 

Beeswax is one of the oldest raw ingredients used in cosmetic preparations. 
Beeswax is traditionally used as an emulsifier for water-in-oil emulsions and is now also used to regulate a formulation’s consistency. 
Beeswax is used as part of the wax composition of solid and paste products such as creams, lipsticks, and pomades. 
When on the skin’s surface, it can form a network rather than a film, as is the case with petroleum. 
Though there is no scientific proof for it, beeswax is credited with anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, antioxidant, anti-bactericidal, germicidal, skin-softening, and elasticity enhancing properties. 
As an anti-oxidant, beeswax has some free-radical scavenging ability. 
Depending on its source, beeswax can be considered a non-comedogenic ingredient. 

Beeswax rarely causes sensitivity, and allergic reactions to beeswax are low.
The use of beeswax in skin care and cosmetics has been increasing. 
A German study found beeswax to be superior to similar barrier creams (usually mineral oil-based creams such as petroleum jelly), when used according to its protocol.
Beeswax is used in lip balm, lip gloss, hand creams, salves, and moisturizers; and in cosmetics such as eye shadow, blush, and eye liner. 
Beeswax is also an important ingredient in moustache wax and hair pomades, which make hair look sleek and shiny.
In oil spill control, beeswax is processed to create Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP). 
Beeswax is used to absorb oil or petroleum-based pollutants from water.

Beeswax has a very rich history, with a far wider range of uses than any other bee product. 
In the past, beeswax was especially valued for candles, because it has a higher melting point than many other waxes, and so the candles remain upright in hot weather. 
Beeswax was also used for modeling and for casting. 
Some of the world's finest bronze statues and gold ornaments have been made by the lost-wax process in which a beeswax model is made and encased in mud or plaster that is allowed to dry; the whole is then heated, the molten wax allowed to escape, and molten metal poured in. 
The metal solidifies in the exact shape of the original beeswax cast, and the casing material is then broken away.
In the batik method of dyeing cloth, and in etching on a glass or metal surface, beeswax can be used as a “resist,” applied to certain areas of a surface to protect them from reaction during a subsequent process.
One of the most important current uses of beeswax is in ointments, emollient skin creams, and lotions. It also is still used in polishes and other protective coatings, and as a lubricant in the armament and other industries. 
Beeswaxs dielectric properties have led to its use in electrical engineering.
The most important substances used as glazing agents are natural or synthetic waxes, such as beeswax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, hydrogenated poly-1-decene, microcrystalline wax, montan acid esters, oxidized polyethylene wax, and shellac. 
All these additives are used for surface treatments of some entire fresh fruits. 

Beeswax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, and shellac are also used in chewing gum; chocolate products; coffee; confections; potato-, cereal-, flour-, or starch-based snacks; fine bakery wares coated with chocolate; and processed nuts. 
Microcrystalline wax and hydrogenated poly-1-decene are used in chewing gum and confections. Glazing agents, with the exception of carnauba wax and hydrogenated poly-1-decene, are used in food at levels in accordance with GMP (about 4000 mg kg− 1). 
Beeswax is used at levels varying between 200 and 1200 mg kg− 1. 
The maximum use level for hydrogenated poly-1-decene is 2000 mg kg− 1.
Beeswax can create a protective layer on the skin. It’s also a humectant, which means that it attracts water. 
Both of these qualities can help the skin stay hydrated.
Beeswax is also a natural exfoliator, ideal for sloughing away dead skin cells.
By making beeswax into a lotion bar, it will work double-duty to keep your skin soft and hydrated.

Beeswax processing is easy. 
Rendering beeswax to a quality suitable for export involves only simple heating and filtering methods to ensure that the beeswax is clean. 
Beeswax can be moulded into blocks using any suitably sized containers as moulds. 
The blocks are broken into small pieces to assure buyers that the beeswax is pure and clean.
Beeswax has many traditional uses. 
In some countries in Asia and Africa, it is used in creating batik fabrics and in the lost-wax method of casting small metal objects. 
Beeswax is widely used as a waterproofing agent for wood and leather, and for strengthening threads; it is used in village industries such as candle-making and as an ingredient in ointments, medicines, soaps and polishes. 

Beeswax is in great demand on the world market. 
There are more than 300 industrial uses for beeswax. 
Cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries are the major users, accounting for 70 percent of the world trade, and require first-class beeswax that has not been overheated. 
The price ranges from US$4 to US$8 per kg. 
Other significant users are the beekeeping industries in industrialized countries that need beeswax for cosmetic foundations and for candle-making. 
Beeswax is used in the manufacture of electronic components and CDs, in modelling and casting for industry and art, in polishes for shoes, furniture and floors, in grafting waxes and in specialized industrial lubricants.
Beeswax is an important raw ingredient for various household products. The largest consumer of beeswax is the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, where it is a component of creams, ointments, pastes, lotions and lipsticks. 
Thus, beeswax is used in large quantities for the manufactoring of candles. 

-Transport and storage of beeswax is simple, because no special packaging is required. Beeswax is normally exported as small unwrapped lumps in hessian sacks.

-Beeswax does not deteriorate with age. Individual beekeepers or cooperatives can store small amounts until they have enough to sell.

-As with honey, beeswax can be considered an appropriate export crop for developing countries, because beekeeping does not use land required for local food production.

-In areas where most or all of the honey produced is consumed locally and where there is no major local use for beeswax, honeycombs are often discarded, even though they could provide additional income. Beekeepers sometimes need to be trained in methods of rendering and saving beeswax, and encouraged to sell their combined crop in one transaction.

USAGES:

-Prevent Rust:

Coat things like hand tools, cast iron pieces, and shovels to prevent them from rusting out. 
You can even rub beeswax on the wooden handle of your shovel to help protect against wear and tear.

-Cheese Waxing:

If you produce your own cheese, beeswax is the best natural cover for cheeses. 
If the cheese is wet, you will need to let it dry before applying the hot wax. 
This is to ensure a proper seal because the wax will not adhere to wet surfaces. 
Beeswax works well for sealing because it has a low melting point.

-Waxed Thread:

Waxed thread is often used in handmade crafts such as hand-sewn leather goods and making jewelry. 
The wax on the thread provides lubrication that can make sewing easier. 
Plain thread can be rubbed against a cube of bee’s wax, coating the thread in the wax.

-Coating Nails & Screws:

Once you coat your nails and screws with beeswax, they do not splinter the wood while you hammer them in.

-Wood Lubricant:

Rub beeswax on sliding glass doors, windows, or drawers that tend to stick to restore smooth movement. 
Beeswax is also a fantastic lubricant for oiling very old furniture joints.

-Beeswax Crayons:

There are many different variations for making beeswax crayons, but most use equal weight amounts of beeswax and white bar soap. 
Beeswax crayons tend to be harder than the soy, giving the ability to add more details to pictures.

-Envelope Seal:

You can make a beeswax seal and apply it to an envelope that you are sending out. 
This would be great for an invitation to a wedding or baby shower.

-Waterproof Shoes and Boots:

Rub the beeswax over the entire shoe. 
Next, use a blow dryer to melt the wax all over the shoe then let set for about 5 minutes before wearing!

HISTRORICAL USES:

Beeswax was among the first plastics to be used, alongside other natural polymers such as gutta-percha, horn, tortoiseshell, and shellac. 
For thousands of years, beeswax has had a wide variety of applications; it has been found in the tombs of Egypt, in wrecked Viking ships, and in Roman ruins. 
Beeswax never goes bad and can be heated and reused. Historically, it has been used:

-As candles - the oldest intact beeswax candles north of the Alps were found in the Alamannic graveyard of Oberflacht, Germany, dating to 6th/7th century AD
-In the manufacture of cosmetics
-As a modelling material in the lost-wax casting process, or cire perdue
-For wax tablets used for a variety of writing purposes
-In encaustic paintings such as the Fayum mummy portraits
-In bow making
-To strengthen and preserve sewing thread, cordage, shoe laces, etc.
-As a component of sealing wax
-To strengthen and to forestall splitting and cracking of wind instrument reeds
-To form the mouthpieces of a didgeridoo, and the frets on the Philippine kutiyapi – a type of boat lute
-As a sealant or lubricant for bullets in cap and ball firearms
-To stabilize the military explosive Torpex – before being replaced by a petroleum-based product
-In producing Javanese batik
-As an ancient form of dental tooth filling
-As the joint filler in the slate bed of pool and billiard tables.

APPLICATIONS:

-Lip balms and lotion bars
-Emulsions (oil-in-water and water-in-oil)
-Thickener for anhydrous, oil-based serums
-Sealing capillaries
-Keep bees busy

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES:

Yellow or light brown pieces or plates with a fine-grained, matt and non-crystalline fracture; when warmed in the hand they become soft and malleable. 
Beeswax has a faint odour, characteristic of honey. It is tasteless and does not stick to the teeth.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:

Beeswax is a yellowish-white solid, somewhat translucent in thin layers. 
Beeswax is insoluble in water and sparingly soluble in cold alcohol. 
Boiling alcohol dissolves cerotic acid and part of the myricin, which are constituents of the wax.
Beeswax is a fragrant solid at room temperature. 
The colors are light yellow, medium yellow, or dark brown and white. 
Beeswax is a tough wax formed from a mixture of several chemical compounds. 
An approximate chemical formula for beeswax is C15H31COOC30H61.

Beeswaxs main constituents are palmitate, palmitoleate, and oleate esters of long-chain (30–32 carbons) aliphatic alcohols, with the ratio of triacontanyl palmitate CH3(CH2)29O-CO-(CH2)14CH3 to cerotic acid CH3(CH2)24COOH, the two principal constituents, being 6:1. 
Beeswax can be classified generally into European and Oriental types. 
The saponification value is lower (3–5) for European beeswax, and higher (8–9) for Oriental types.
The analytical characterization can be done by high-temperature Gas Chromatography.
Beeswax has a relatively low melting point range of 62 to 64 °C (144 to 147 °F). 
If beeswax is heated above 85 °C (185 °F) discoloration occurs. 
The flash point of beeswax is 204.4 °C (400 °F).[10]
When natural beeswax is cold, it is brittle, and its fracture is dry and granular. 
At room temperature (conventionally taken as about 20 °C (68 °F)), it is tenacious and it softens further at human body temperature (37 °C (99 °F)). 
The specific gravity of beeswax at 15 °C (59 °F) is from 0.958 to 0.975; that of melted beeswax at 98 to 99 °C (208.4 to 210.2 °F) (compared with water at 15.5 °C (59.9 °F)) is 0.9822.

PHARMACEUTICAL PROPERTIES:

Beeswax is a chemically bleached form of yellow wax and is used in similar applications: for example, to increase the consistency of creams and ointments, and to stabilize water-in-oil emulsions. 
Beeswax is used to polish sugar-coated tablets and to adjust the melting point of suppositories.
Beeswax microspheres may be used in oral dosage forms to retard the absorption of an active ingredient from the stomach, allowing the majority of absorption to occur in the intestinal tract.
Beeswax coatings can also be used to affect the release of drug from ion-exchange resin beads.

PRODUCTION:

Beeswax is formed by worker bees, which secrete it from eight wax-producing mirror glands on the inner sides of the sternites (the ventral shield or plate of each segment of the body) on abdominal segments 4 to 7. 
The sizes of these wax glands depend on the age of the worker, and after many daily flights, these glands gradually begin to atrophy.
The new wax is initially glass-clear and colorless, becoming opaque after chewing and being contaminated with pollen by the hive worker bees, becoming progressively yellower or browner by incorporation of pollen oils and propolis. 
Beeswax scales are about three millimetres (0.12 in) across and 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) thick, and about 1100 are needed to make a gram of wax. 
Worker bees use the beeswax to build honeycomb cells. 
For the wax-making bees to secrete wax, the ambient temperature in the hive must be 33 to 36 °C (91 to 97 °F).
The book Beeswax Production, Harvesting, Processing and Products suggests one kilogram (2.2 lb) of beeswax is sufficient to store 22 kg (49 lb) of honey. 
Another study estimated that one kilogram (2.2 lb) of wax can store 24 to 30 kg (53 to 66 lb) of honey.
Sugars from honey are metabolized in wax-gland-associated fat cells into beeswax.
The amount of honey used by bees to produce wax has not been accurately determined, but according to Whitcomb's 1946 experiment, 6.66 to 8.80 kg (14.7 to 19.4 lb) of honey yields one kilogram (2.2 lb) of wax.

PROCESSING:

When beekeepers extract the honey, they cut off the wax caps from each honeycomb cell with an uncapping knife or machine.
Beeswax may arise from such cappings, or from an old comb that is scrapped, or from the beekeeper removing unwanted burr comb and brace comb and suchlike. 
Beeswaxs color varies from nearly white to brownish, but most often is a shade of yellow, depending on purity, the region, and the type of flowers gathered by the bees. 
The wax from the brood comb of the honey bee hive tends to be darker than wax from the honeycomb because impurities accumulate more quickly in the brood comb. 
Due to the impurities, the wax must be rendered before further use. 
The leftovers are called slumgum, and is derived from old breeding rubbish (pupa casings, cocoons, shed larva skins, etc), bee droppings, propolis, and general rubbish.
Beeswax may be clarified further by heating in water. 
As with petroleum waxes, it may be softened by dilution with mineral oil or vegetable oil to make it more workable at room temperature.

HOW DOES IT WORK:

Beeswax might help lower cholesterol levels, prevent infections, and help protect the stomach from ulcers caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

STORAGE:

When the wax is heated above 150℃, esterification occurs with a consequent lowering of acid value and elevation of melting point. 
Beeswax is stable when stored in a well-closed container, protected from ligh.

IUPAC NAMES: 

BEESWAX
Beeswax
beeswax
Beeswax (The wax obtained from the honeycomb of the bee. It consists primarily of myricyl palmitate, cerotic acid and esters and some high-carbon paraffins.)
Beeswax extract
cera alba

SYNONYMS:

BEESWAX, YELLOW
BEESWAX ABSOLUTE
BEESWAX ABSOLUTE BRECHE
BEESWAX, BLEACHED, WHITE
BEESWAX, WHITE
BEESWAX
CERA ALBA
CERA FLAVA
FEMA 2126
Bee wax white
WHITE BEESWAX NF PASTILLES)
BEESWAX, WHITE CAKE
BEESWAX, WHITE PRILLED
WAX, BEES, YELLOW
WAX WHITE
WAX
WAX, BEES
WAX, BEES, WHITE
WHITE BEESWAX
WHITE WAX
YELLOW BEESWAX
YELLOW WAX
White?Bee?Wax
Chinese(insect) wax
BEESWAX, REFINED, YELLOW
BeesWaxPure(White)ForHistology
Ceraalbaorflava
Chinese (insect) wax,white wax
Beeswax,pure,refined, yellow