Making Wax in the Bee Hive

The bees make wax by secreting wax from glands in their abdomen. They join together in festoons as they join the secretions. The bees in the picture below are stretched across the two frames I have separated with my hive tool as they are interrupted by me in the middle of their wax creation.



Look at the beauty of brand new wax. It is so white and clean. They typically do this - make three sections of comb in the frame - and then seamlessly join the three sections to fill the frame.

In the picture below, if you click to enlarge it, you can see that the edges of the wax cells remain somewhat rough. The cell isn't completed, whether it is used for brood or honey storage, until it is capped. Probably it doesn't matter to the bees if the edges are straight or not, since the capping will smooth over the edges.


At Blue Heron today, I found the bees in the third hive still making crooked comb. I cut out one piece that also included some honey. I set it on the hive beside the one I was inspecting. I saw this bee sticking her long tongue in the honey so as not to lose it! If you click to enlarge the picture you can see her long tongue down in the cell.