Metamorphosis of Wax

Abstract

The wax scales of honeybees are roughly pentagonal in shape with rounded corners and with a slight degree of curvature in the surface plane. As such, they are of the same general outline as are the cuticular surfaces of the wax mirrors on which they form (Fig. 3.1), those of the last pair of wax mirrors being somewhat smaller than the more uniform anterior mirror pairs (Huber 1814; Dreyling 1903). The wax scales vary in thickness depending upon the time that they have been developing on the abdomen of the honeybee (Huber 1814; Dönhoff 1854b). Thus, they range in thickness from about 200 to 500 µm when normally used by bees (or fallen from bees) but extremes of 1000 µm have been observed (Buttel-Reepen 1915; Jordan 1962).