According to my 1979 edition of The Hive and The Honey Bee, wax is secreted by wax glands possessed by 12 to 18 day old worker bees. It comes off in small flakes or scales from the last four abdominal segements on the underside of the bee. They have to consume a fair amount of honey, and the temperature must be between 33 and 36 degrees C for the whole process to work. The guys building the comb gorge themselves with honey and hang in sheets at the building site. (I've seen that in an observation hive, and never knew what they were about.) After 24 hours of hanging around, they begin to build. They pick off their own wax secretions, and chew them, adding some madibular gland secretions. Like kneading bread, I suppose, it eventually becomes smooth and dense, and is then added to the comb structure. The book says it takes about 4 minutes to deal with one flake. Lots of time and honey are consumed to produce the beautiful comb we take for granted! If the post-1979 editions say something else or in addition, please jump in. I'll work on honey next. Stay tuned. Guy F. Miller 2025 Spottswood Rd. Charlottesville, VA 22903 (804) 296-0090