# The Smell of Beeswax: What Makes it Strong?



## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Does anyone know this?


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

I know that wax that has been rendered from brood comb has a strong - not unpleasant - smell. It pretty much looks the same though.


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

What gives beeswax its color is what gives it its smell.... honey, nectar, pollen, propolis. I have some white beeswax in a sandwich bag by my computer. It doesn't smell much. More than likely, the more exposure to the items mentioned, the more smell there is. Ummmm good.

In the reverse, for those making beeswax candles, the whiter (newer), ultra-filtered or bleached waxes tend to not have that really good smell that the golden waxes do. Too bad. I do like the really white look and it is easier to tint the wax a little the whiter it is. The more the wax is cleaned the less scent there is.

Also, some flowers that are collected from have stronger scents than other types.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Unperfumed beeswax does not smell like a lot of what is on the market. Dadant seems to add some perfume to theirs. A pleasant enough smell, but not like beeswax. I assume they chose it carefully enough since it is well accepted by the bees in their foundation. But plain beeswax has a definite, and in my opinion, pleasant smell.


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## Ricky Bee (Apr 16, 2011)

I noticed the first time I got a shipment of foundation from Kelley, it smelled so good I wanted to eat it. Definitely enhanced with something, but I'm not sure what. Kind of a spicy, vanilla or sweet woodruff kind of smell. Dadant foundation has a similar fragrance. I wish someone made ice cream that tastes exactly like that.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Well, I ask because last season, I crushed and strained enough combs to give me 50lbs or so of honey. I melted the wax in water, cooled it and the resulting yellow wax smelled like absolutely nothing. No smell, apart from the faint hint of brood cocoons.

Right now I have two top bars, sitting bar-down on my dining room table. One has about 1/2 a pound of honey left in it and the rest has been eaten by the bees; leaving the crumbs of cappings in the cells. And there is one smaller new comb that has no honey and never had any.

The two have been sitting there and the classic smell of beeswax is so strong and rich in the room, and has been for days.

I'd like to know why the difference. One would make a heck of a lot more pleasing candle than the other.

Adam


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Didn't you say you have been treating your hives? Essential oils and such.


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## muskratcreekhoney (Mar 30, 2010)

I noticed last year during the goldenrod flow that the bees built some really beautiful bright yellow comb. So I wonder if their nectar source has something to do with the smell of the beeswax also.


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