DESCRIPTION

Beeswax, White, occurs as a yellow-white solid, somewhat translucent in thin layers, with a faint, characteristic odor, free from rancidity. It is the bleached, purified wax from the honeycomb of the bee Apis mellifera L. (Fam. Apidae), and it consists primarily of myricyl palmitate (myricin), cerotic acid and ester, and some high-carbon paraffins. Its specific gravity is about 0.95. Beeswax, White, is insoluble in water and sparingly soluble in cold alcohol. Boiling alcohol dissolves cerotic acid and part of the myricin. It is completely soluble in chloroform, in ether, and in fixed and volatile oils. It is partly soluble in cold carbon disulfide and is completely soluble in it at temperatures of 30° or above.