Sara Ward
Spotting my queen bees, when we open the hives after the colder months, always fills me with joy. Some of these insects could be as old as four or five years. While the other bees in the hive live a maximum six months, our queens head up strong colonies by laying new eggs, up to 2,000 a day, for years. So, knowing that they’ve made it through the winter (when they literally huddle together for warmth) is a huge relief. As the days get longer and more food is available from spring flowers and blossom, the colony will start to grow, making this the perfect time to give the hive a spring clean. It also offers the chance to remove the beeswax and put it to good use. Having washed the hives, filled them with new frames and gently shaken the bees back into their home (called a ‘shook swarm’), I’m left with old frames containing old honey, pollen, larvae, cocoons, eggs and wax.
To extract the wax, I prize away the wooden frames and gently melt the wax
combs in an old large saucepan with rainwater (to avoid limescale from hard tap water). As it melts, the honey dissolves in the warm water and the lightweight cocoons and other debris float to the top. I allow this to cool and the wax sets at the top with the honey water below. I can then lift off the floating block of wax. The next step is filtering. I do this by melting it through a fine cloth over simmering rainwater and discarding the impurities that end up trapped in the filtering cloth.
While we know, both from old cave paintings and honeycomb found in the pyramids, that people have enjoyed honey for many thousands of years, there’s evidence that beeswax has also been highly valued for centuries. In the Middle Ages, when most candles were made of animal fat that smoked and smelt awful, beeswax candles were reserved for the rich and the church as symbols of purity and holiness. Later, it was used for sealing letters and as a coating to preserve cheese. More recently, its anti-pathogenic properties have made it popular in skincare.
Once I’ve finished the cleaning and filtering, I’m left with a lovely smooth bar of beeswax. It makes a wonderful furniture polish when melted with olive oil and can also be used to create beeswax wraps. These are not just a great plastic-free way to store food but also make the most of wax’s natural anti-bacterial properties – so you can benefit from beeswax in the same way people have for hundreds of years.
People have enjoyed honey for thousands of years