> So what if pollen is incorporated to a small degree with the wax for strength? I have no idea but I am sure Peter has something on that. 

Hi all
I admit I am reluctant to undertake a question that begins with "So what ..." but: 

Gross chemical differences between wax scales and finished combs led directly to a 
search for proteinaceous material that could be added to the wax during chewing. 

Wax was obtained by keeping small colonies of bees made from newly enclosed brood, 
confined in a laboratory with no opportunity to forage, nor access to pollen or honey. 
The bees were only fed a syrupy solution of sucrose. Kurstjens et al. (1985) were able 
to confirm that scale wax obtained under these conditions contained about 2 µg of 
protein/mg of wax, and that comb wax contained about 6 µg of protein/mg of wax.

The total effects of the manipulation of wax scales by honeybees can now be
summarised. In the process of mandibulation, the highly-textured scale is thoroughly
masticated and is converted from a texturally anisotropic body into an
isotropic one. At the time of chewing, the bees also add a salivary secretion to the
wax that, at the very least, contains a lipase that modifies the lipid composition of
the starting material; there is a marked reduction of the diglyceride fraction of the
scale and a concomitant increase in the monoglyceride pool of the comb. Although
full analyses of the protein fractions is not as yet available, it is evident that
whatever protein is injected into the wax on chewing certainly acts to stiffen the
final product. So, the stiffness of the scale that arises from its texture is lost on
chewing, but is regained with the addition of proteins in comb-building.

(Hepburn, 2014)

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