What is "beeswax"

Wax \Wax\, n. [AS. weax; akin to OFries. wax, D. was, G. wachs, OHG. wahs, Icel. & Sw. vax, Dan. vox, Lith. vaszkas, Russ. vosk'.]

1. A fatty, solid substance, produced by bees, and employed by them in the construction of their comb; -- usually called beeswax. It is first excreted, from a row of pouches along their sides, in the form of scales, which, being masticated and mixed with saliva, become whitened and tenacious. Its natural color is pale or dull yellow.

   Note: Beeswax consists essentially of cerotic acid (constituting the more soluble part) and of myricyl palmitate (constituting the less soluble part).

2. Hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance. Specifically:

   1. (Physiol.) Cerumen, or earwax. See Cerumen.

   2. A waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, etc.

   3. A waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.

   4. (Zo["o]l.) A substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. See Wax insect, below.

   5. (Bot.) A waxlike product secreted by certain plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable.

   6. (Min.) A substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal; -- called also mineral wax, and ozocerite.

   7. Thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling. [Local U. S.]

   8. any of numerous substances or mixtures composed predominantly of the longer-chain saturated hydrocarbons such as the paraffins, which are solid at room teperature, or their alcohol, carboxylic acid, or ester derivatives. Japanese wax, a waxlike substance made in Japan from the berries of certain species of Rhus, esp. Rhus succedanea. Mineral wax. (Min.) See Wax, 2 (f), above. Wax cloth. See Waxed cloth, under Waxed. Wax end. See Waxed end, under Waxed. Wax flower, a flower made of, or resembling, wax. Wax insect (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of scale insects belonging to the family Coccid[ae], which secrete from their bodies a waxlike substance, especially the Chinese wax insect ( Coccus Sinensis) from which a large amount of the commercial Chinese wax is obtained. Called also pela. Wax light, a candle or taper of wax. Wax moth (Zo["o]l.), a pyralid moth ( Galleria cereana) whose larv[ae] feed upon honeycomb, and construct silken galleries among the fragments. The moth has dusky gray wings streaked with brown near the outer edge. The larva is yellowish white with brownish dots. Called also bee moth. Wax myrtle. (Bot.) See Bayberry. Wax painting, a kind of painting practiced by the ancients, under the name of encaustic. The pigments were ground with wax, and diluted. After being applied, the wax was melted with hot irons and the color thus fixed. Wax palm. (Bot.)

      1. A species of palm ( Ceroxylon Andicola) native of the Andes, the stem of which is covered with a secretion, consisting of two thirds resin and one third wax, which, when melted with a third of fat, makes excellent candles.

      2. A Brazilian tree ( Copernicia cerifera) the young leaves of which are covered with a useful waxy secretion. Wax paper, paper prepared with a coating of white wax and other ingredients. Wax plant (Bot.), a name given to several plants, as:

         1. The Indian pipe (see under Indian).

         2. The Hoya carnosa, a climbing plant with polished, fleshy leaves.

      3. Certain species of Begonia with similar foliage. Wax tree (Bot.)

         1. A tree or shrub ( Ligustrum lucidum) of China, on which certain insects make a thick deposit of a substance resembling white wax.

         2. A kind of sumac ( Rhus succedanea) of Japan, the berries of which yield a sort of wax.

         3. A rubiaceous tree ( El[ae]agia utilis) of New Grenada, called by the inhabitants ``arbol del cera.''

            Wax yellow, a dull yellow, resembling the natural color of beeswax.

1670s, from genitive of bee + wax. As a jocular alteration of business (usually in an injunction to someone to mind his own) attested from 1934 in Lower East Side slang as reproduced in Henry Roth's "Call It Sleep."

n. 1 A wax secreted by bees from which they make honeycomb; or, the processed form of this wax used in the manufacture of various goods. 2 (context colloquial mildly humorous English) “business”, as in such phrases as (term mind your own beeswax English) and (term none of your beeswax English). vb. To polish (something) with beeswax.

1. n. a yellow to brown wax secreted by honeybees to build honeycombs

2. v. cover with beeswax; "Chris beeswaxed the kitchen table"

Beeswax is a 2009 American mumblecore film written and directed by Andrew Bujalski. The film examines a few days in the life of twins, played by real-life sisters Tilly and Maggie Hatcher.

It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and had a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 7, 2009.

Beeswax (Cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus Apis. The wax is formed into "scales" by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments 4 through 7 of worker bees, who 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 long-standing applications in human food and flavoring, for example as a glazing agent or a light/heat source. It is edible, in the sense of having similar negligible toxicity to plant waxes, and is approved for food use in the European Union under the E number E901. However, the wax monoesters in beeswax are poorly hydrolysed in the guts of humans and other mammals, so have insignificant nutritional value. Some birds, such as honeyguides, can digest beeswax.