> What property does a bee have to keep mold off of beeswax and bacteria
> (with the exception of Clostridium botulinum) and molds out of honey?
 
I've gotten a little behind in my reading the past couple of days, but a
quick scan of the subject lines of my still unread notes doesn't show
any responses to this, so I'll take a crack at it.
 
The bees evaporate about 12 parts of moisture out of the nectar to yeild
one part of finished honey.  There is less moisture in the honey than
there is in the micro-organisms that find their way into it.
Consequently, the moisture-hungry honey draws fluids out through the
cell wall of molds and bacteria by osmosis.  The result is that the
organism dies of dehydration.  Encapsulated bacteria such as botulism
are encased in a hard protective shell that prevents thier demise, but
nonetheless, honey is a hostile environment in which they merely
survive, and do not grow and flourish.
 
This is why it's important to store honey away from excess humidity or
moisture.
 
I don't know anything about the interaction of wax and microorganisms.
 
Michael Reddell
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http://www.hotcity.com/~mwr