Cecile T. Kohrs recently wrote:
 
> Hi.
>
> I am a honey lover, and I have been having great debates with
> friends about how bees make wax, and when beeswax candles were first
> made.
>
> And honey...isn't it bee spit?
>
> I hope it isn't too trivial to ask, I am also interested in more
> recipes using honey, and what I'd have to do to modify recipes to
> use honey instead of sugar.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Firstly the second question,  of course honey is nasty stuff and
might be better described not as 'spit'  but as 'vomit'  because bees
regurgitate it from their stomachs.  Have nothing to do with it is my
advice.
 
Bees suck nectar and it passes through a long esophagus to the crop.
At the back end of the crop is a gadget called the Proventricular
Valve.  This regulates the passage of nectar and pollen into the
digestive chamber further on down the line called the Midgut and
prevents the contents of the Midgut from passing back into the crop.
The collected nectar from a foraging bee is collected in the crop and
what is left over after the bee has consumed enough to meet it's
energy needs is vomited into cells of honeycomb.  Quite disgusting
really.
 
One of the by products of honey consumption is wax,  produced by
modified epidermal cells located ventrally on the fourth to seventh
abdominal segments.  These glands are concealed beneath overlapping
plates called wax mirrors on each segment.  The liquid wax collects
on the wax mirrors and hardens into scales which are removed by
brushing spines on the hind legs past the mirrors.  The leg
holding the scale moves forward to the mandibles,  which then
manipulate the wax with the help of the forelegs for comb
construction.
 
Although I have never used honey very much for cookery (because it
is such disgusting stuff) bear in mind that it is approximately 20%
water and therefore reduce the water content of the recipe by 20% and
add extra honey to compensate for the reduced sugar content.
 
Don't know when wax candles were first made,  but probably several
thousands of years ago.  Wick technology is important in the history
of candle making,  but that's another story...
 
Best wishes
 
Joe Hemmens
 
Joe Hemmens
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Park House, Golberdon, Cornwall UK
01579382652