Wax Foundation

Wax foundation is a beekeeping material made by rolling pure beeswax into thin sheets and embossing both faces with a cell-base pattern; it is given to bees as a starting surface on which to build comb, and is also widely known as comb foundation. The right cell size, pure wax and taut wiring are the three conditions for straight, long-lasting comb. This page covers the types of foundation, how to choose and fit it, and in particular the problems of fake wax and residues.

What is wax foundation and how is it made?

Foundation is made by first forming melted and cleaned beeswax into a flat sheet, then passing it between patterned rollers or through press moulds. Both faces of the sheet carry hexagonal cell bases imitating the base of natural comb, together with the first few millimetres of the cell walls. As in natural comb, the cells on the two faces are offset from each other; each cell base is a shallow pit made up of three rhombuses.

The bees raise the cell walls on this base with wax they secrete themselves. In this way the position, plane and cell size of the comb are set from the start. The equipment used to make it is described on a separate page, “Beeswax Foundation Making Equipment”.

What are the benefits of foundation?

• Straight, interchangeable comb: The comb stays inside the frame, and frames can be moved freely between hives.
• Mostly worker comb: The proportion of drone cells is limited, and the brood area is given over to raising workers.
• Faster comb building: Because the bees start from a ready-made base, they secrete less wax and progress faster.
• Strength for extraction and transport: Honey comb drawn from wire-supported foundation stands up well to centrifugal force.

What types of foundation are there?

Pure beeswax foundation

The most common type and the one bees accept most readily. It is used in brood and honey frames. Its quality depends entirely on the purity and cleanliness of the wax.

Wired (pre-wired) foundation

A type with vertical, crimped wires set into the sheet during manufacture. It is common in some countries; even so, it is recommended to support it in the frame with horizontal wires or pins.

Plastic and plastic-based foundation

A plastic sheet is coated with a thin layer of beeswax, or the frame and foundation are made as a single piece of plastic. It needs no wiring and stands up well to wax moth and extraction. On the other hand, bees may not draw a plastic surface as willingly as beeswax, especially if the wax coating is poor; giving it during a nectar flow makes acceptance easier.

Types by cell size

How do you choose the thickness of foundation?

Foundation is usually specified by the number of sheets per kilogram: more sheets from the same weight means thinner sheets.

• Standard thickness: For brood boxes and supers for extracted honey. When supported with wire it can be used for years.
• Thin foundation: For cut comb and comb honey production. The base of the comb cannot be felt in the mouth; no wire is used.
• Thick sheets: More durable, but more wax goes into each unit of area; the bees have to thin it as they work it.

How do you fit foundation in a frame?

However good the foundation, if it is fitted loose or crooked, crooked comb will result. Crooked comb wipes out all the benefits of the movable-frame system.

1. Prepare the frame: An assembled frame with square corners and drilled side bars.
2. Wire it: Thread stainless wire through the holes and tension it; when plucked with a finger the wire should ring, not give.
3. Place the sheet: Seat the top edge in the groove of the top bar or under the wedge, or stick it in place with melted wax.
4. Embed the wire: Lay the sheet on an embedding board sized to the inside of the frame; embed the wire in the wax with a low-voltage electric embedder or a spur embedder.
5. Leave a gap: Leave a few millimetres between the sheet and the bottom bar and at the sides; wax expands in the heat.

Fake wax in foundation: paraffin and stearin

Because beeswax is an expensive raw material, it is sometimes found mixed with cheaper substances in foundation production. The most common adulterants are paraffin (petroleum-derived wax), stearin (a fatty-acid mixture of stearic and palmitic acid) and animal tallow.

• Paraffin adulteration: Its melting point is often lower than that of beeswax; the drawn comb softens, sags and may even collapse in the heat. Bees draw adulterated sheets reluctantly.
• Stearin adulteration: In Europe, deaths of young larvae and a spotty, patchy brood pattern have been reported in colonies given foundation containing stearin. The brood problem can be mistaken for a sign of disease.
• Signs in the field: Unusually low price, a weak or foreign smell, a greasy feel, deformed drawn combs, unexplained gaps in the brood.
• Definite detection: Home tests such as smelling, breaking, burning or floating are not reliable. Adulteration can only be confirmed by laboratory analysis (for example infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography).

Residue build-up: the hidden risk in foundation

Beeswax retains fat-soluble substances. Some fat-soluble acaricides used in the hive (especially those from the synthetic pyrethroid and organophosphate groups) and pesticides carried in from the fields pass into the comb and are not removed by normal melting. As wax obtained from old combs is turned back into foundation, these residues accumulate and are carried into new colonies.

• Possible effects: There are studies on reduced brood development, lower queen and drone quality, and easier development of resistance to varroa treatments.
• Commercial foundation: Wax from many beekeepers is mixed; traceability is limited.
• A closed wax cycle: The soundest solution is to melt your own apiary's wax separately, especially the light-coloured cappings wax produced during uncapping, and turn it into your own foundation.
• Wax from old, darkened comb: Dark wax from brood combs should be kept separate and used for other purposes rather than foundation.
• Comb renewal: Replacing brood combs every few years reduces the residue load in the hive.

How should foundation be stored?

• Store it flat in a cool, dry, dark place, in its original packaging or between sheets of paper.
• Keep it away from places wax moths can get into; do not keep it on the same shelf as strong-smelling chemicals and paints.
• The whitish film that forms on the surface over time (wax bloom) is harmless; it disappears quickly in a warm room or in the sun.
• Cold sheets are brittle; leave them in a warm room before fitting.

Common mistakes with foundation

• Sagging, wavy comb because of slack or unembedded wire.
• Cutting the sheet so long that it rests on the bottom bar.
• Using very cheap foundation of unknown origin.
• Having wax from old, dark brood comb made back into foundation.
• Giving lots of foundation to colonies that are not being fed when there is no nectar flow.