Honeybees and Wax

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XII

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2. Introduction

   1. Introduction

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 1-4

3. The Nature and Production of Beeswax

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 5-5

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   2. The Origin of Beeswax: an Historical Perspective

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 6-10

   3. Source of Secretion

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 11-28

   4. Rise and Fall of the Epithelium

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 29-43

   5. Composition and Synthesis of Beeswax

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 44-56

   6. Food Conversion Ratios in the Production of Beeswax

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 57-69

4. The Manipulation of Wax by Honeybees

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 71-71

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   2. Manipulation Of Wax Scales

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 72-79

   3. Metamorphosis of Wax

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 80-92

   4. The Construction of Cells

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 93-114

   5. The Construction of Combs

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 115-126

5. Stimuli for Production and Manipulation of Wax

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 127-127

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   2. The Nectar Flow

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 128-138

   3. Pollen and Wax Production

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 139-144

   4. The Brood Nest

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 145-152

   5. The Queen

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 153-161

   6. Space and Density

      • H. R. Hepburn

      Pages 162-171

6. Back Matter

   Pages 172-205

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"Instead of dirt and poison we have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax; thus furnisning mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light". Mindful of Swift's dictum, this compilation is offered as an exhaustive coverage of a smallish literature on the synthesis and secretion of beeswax, its elaboration into combs and the factors which bear on the execution of these processes by honeybees. To codify any aspect of the biology of an animal of agricultural importance is to sift through myriad observations and experiments, centuries old, that come down to us enshrouded in the folk literature. It is evident that wars and languages have also acted as barriers to the dissemination of knowledge about honeybees. Thus, particular care has been given to the primacy of discovery and its con­ textual significance. I have endeavoured to not over-interpret data and to allow the authors' works to speak for themselves. I have also tried to indicate some of the more obvious gaps in our knowledge of honeybees in relation to wax and to suggest some directions as to where we might proceed, aided by discoveries made on other animals and plants. This was done to remind the seasoned bee-hand of our general neglect of beeswax biology, historically constituting less than a percentage point of the apicultural literature.

• agriculture
• animals
• biology
• plants

• Department of Physiology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

  H. R. Hepburn

• Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

  H. R. Hepburn

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