Towards Sustainable Batik
A shorter version of this article was published in the Batik Guild Magazine, March 2009
Peak Wax?
The most commonly used waxes for batik in Britain are paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax and beeswax. Traditionally resins (not a wax) were incorporated into batik wax, while soy wax and other plant substances are among newer resists. Waxes have differing properties, such as melting point and stickiness that enable a range of resist qualities. Over the next year I will present information on the production or manufacturing, and disposal of these waxes, starting with beeswax.
Wax is defined by Chambers as "any of a wide variety of solid or semi-solid lipids, either natural or synthetic, that are typically shiny, have a low melting point, are easily moulded when warm, and are insoluble in water".
Beeswax part I
Beeswax is produced by honey bees to make or cap honeycomb. Honeycomb is a two sided sheet of beeswax formed into hexagonal cells. Wax is secreted as waxy scales from glands under the abdomen of young worker bees and shaped by their mandibles to form these cells. Wax production is stimulated by feasting on honey and raising body temperature by huddling together. Bees consume between six and ten pounds of honey to produce one pound of wax!
Comb can be either broodcomb, where the queen lays eggs and the new brood is raised, or honeycomb which stores honey and pollen. Once filled with honey or pollen, a cell is capped with a thin layer of wax. Bees break into and feed from these stores during winter.
Beekeepers assist their bees by providing both hives and wood-and-wire panels coated with beeswax embossed in a honeycomb shape (foundation), making the task for bees of building up honeycomb easier. Once honey has ripened the beekeeper will remove some frames with attached honeycomb, slice off the top layer of wax (cappings) and hang the panel in an extractor unit that spins out the honey. After extraction the panel, still damp with remnant honey, is replaced in the hive. The bees repair the comb and dry it out for the next season.
Wax extraction
To instead retain all the wax, frames are placed in a solar extractor, a wooden box with glass lid. Heat building up within the box melts the wax which collects at the bottom. Alternatively wax is steamed or boiled off frames.
Freshly-made wax starts off nearly white but over time gets coloured yellow or brown by accumulation of pollen and propolis. Thus cappings provide the cleanest wax and brood wax the most coloured and hardest to render. Brood wax is used repeatedly to raise young, so also contains cocoons and waste (slumgum) which absorb wax limiting the retrievable amount.
So, to be purified, molten wax is filtered through variously meshed cloths to remove particles. Alternatively it is melted in hot water, where wax rises to the surface and impurities sink or attach to the bottom side of the wax. The impurities can be scraped away when the wax cools and hardens and can be removed from the water. Commercially beeswax may be dissolved in a volatile solvent then filtered cold to separate out non-soluble particles from the wax.
Not all wax extracted is available for human use! Some needs to be returned to the hive in the form of new foundation (wax purified with solvents is unsuitable due to solvent residues). Frames with new foundation are replaced in rotation every three to four years, so every year there is some fresh foundation. Amongst the European honey bee's (Apis mellifera) characteristics are a well-developed ability to build new honeycomb and a propensity to swarm (leave the hive with the queen to start a new colony if the existing has no more room for egg-laying or honey). So a colony can be encouraged to stay intact if there is always work to do!
Commercial refining
Following purification, beeswax is refined. Commercial refiners use two processes. Firstly wax is melted in hot water. Fuller's earth and activated carbon are added to adsorb impurities, and after allowing for reaction time are removed through pressure filtration. Refined yellow beeswax is produced, with some loss of colour and odour.
The second process produces white or bleached beeswax. Refined yellow wax is gently heated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). As the H2O2 boils small bubbles pass through the wax 'wetting' and separating water-soluble particles, while bleaching is carried out by the 'spare' oxygen molecule. Further odour as well as colour is lost.
Various chlorinated chemicals can be used for cosmetic bleaching of beeswax but would only disguise the presence of impurities, and chlorine will remain in the wax.
Problems - diseases
Sometimes things go wrong for bees and their keepers. Cold damp weather keeps bees indoors, and if this weather persists they break into winter honey stores early leaving them vulnerable to starvation later on (though they can be fed on sugar solution). Diseases include bacterial European foul brood that kills off larvae, a microsporidian fungus nosema that inhibits digestion of pollen, and Israel acute paralysis virus. Although not found in the UK, small hive beetle is a notifiable pest.
Parasitic mite Varroa destructor arrived in Britain in 1992 and is now in 95% of hives. All bee colonies must be inspected regularly and treated with pesticide1 when levels of varroa infestation require it or the colony will die within three years. Varroa weakens both adult bee and brood, and spreads harmful pathogens like viruses. In some areas varroa mite has become resistant to certain miticides2.
Commercially-produced foundation with large cells leads to larger bees, which are greater nectar gatherers8. Recent experiments show these larger bees are more prone to disease, and foundation with larger cells allows more varroa infestation at larval stage. Smaller cell sizes reflecting those found in wild honey bee combs reduce the impact of varroa infestation and produce 'smaller' and healthier bees9.
Colony Collapse Disorder
Nearly a third of the UK's honey bees didn't survive the winter of 2007-08 (a 5-10% loss is considered normal). Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) as it is known in Europe (but not yet officially confirmed in the UK by Defra) describes the situation where worker bees suddenly disappear without trace. They leave behind the queen, capped brood, very young bees, and ample honey and pollen stores - but the colony cannot sustain itself and dies. Colony collapses have occurred across Europe, north America, China and other countries.
A single cause of CCD is not known but collapses could be due to stress, a virus, some other reason or a combination of factors. Varroa mite is considered partially responsible. Defra results on isolated samples from dead or dying colonies indicated high levels of virus. Bees may have become stressed during the wet summer of 2007 from being confined to their hives and prevented from foraging for nectar and pollen. Stress makes bees more vulnerable to viruses and nosema. Many scientists think bees become stressed from exposure to pesticides and thus more susceptible10.
At sub-lethal doses, neonicotinoid insecticides (especially imidacloprid) are known to affect bees' learning and orientation11. They are used as seed dressing for oilseed rape, maize and sunflower seeds (pollinated by bees) and irrigation water for greenhouse plants (tomato, cucumber, pepper, ornamentals - can be pollinated by bees). Neonicotinoids have been banned in Italy, Germany, Slovenia, and France. Last year the Soil Association asked Defra to immediately ban them in Britain, and in the US the Sierra Club asked the same of the EPA. The EPA now has imidacloprid under review, with the other neonicotinoids to follow in the next three years. Michael Schacker's recently published book 'A Spring Without Bees', described as the new 'Silent Spring', demonstrates these pesticides are the prime suspect for CCD.
Other theories for CCD include monoculture leading to limited diet, climate change affecting flowering dates and pollen availability, selective breeding thus low genetic diversity, genetically modified crops and mobile/cell phone radiation12. In the US, transportation of bees over huge distances for commercial pollination is considered to add to bee stress (but is not practised in Britain).
Sudden losses of honey bee colonies with no ascertainable cause have been recorded around the world in the last hundred years. It's possible that CCD is just another event in this cycle of disappearances, and colonies will recover naturally. But if losses continue at the same rate as now, the seriousness goes way beyond shortages of wax and honey. Already wild honey bee populations have been decimated and honey bees are vital to the ecosystem, pollinating around 80% of flowering plants and a third of the food we eat.
In January 2009 Defra funding of the National Bee Unit almost doubled with an extra £2.3m over two years, for help, education and advice for English and Welsh beekeepers to deal with colony problems (similar work is carried out by equivalent departments in Scotland and Northern Ireland). A further £2m over five years is allocated for bee health research. In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority has awarded €100,000 to scientific institutes for research into CCD. Rowse Honey has committed three years funding of £100,000 for research, and the Co-op has donated £150,000 and banned foods grown using neonicotinoids from its fresh produce range.
Asian, African and Africanised bees
Asian and Africanised honey bee colonies do not appear to suffer CCD. Although European honey bee A. mellifera species have been favoured across the world for honey production (mellifera means 'bearer of honey'), they are more susceptible to mite and other diseases than the Asian honey bee A. cerana. The Asian honey bee being a natural host to and co-evolving with varroa mite and nosema learned to groom more thoroughly! Asian honey bees also re-use less comb, tearing down old and building up new wax regularly (cerana means 'wax maker').
Africanised bees have tolerance to varroa mite, but are more defensive, aggressive and inclined to swarm than European bees. Africanised bees, a hybrid of African and European honey bees, are the result of a Brazilian breeding programme's accidental release in 1956, which since have spread throughout South and Central America and the southern US. However the African honey bee A. mellifera scutellata, native to central and southern Africa, does not show the same resistance to varroa mite.
Mexico and China
Most of Fibrecrafts' beeswax comes from Mexico and China (lower cost than British wax). China is the world's top exporter of honey (and perhaps wax), though until several years ago Mexico held that position.
In Mexico native stingless bees (Meliponini species) have been domesticated in log hives for around two millennia but European honey bees, introduced by colonial settlers, gradually became favoured being greater honey and wax producers. By 1990 Africanised bees had become the dominant feral honey bee across Mexico, and six years later most managed hives were also Africanised. Over the last decade, selective breeding of Africanised bees has produced tamer, disease-resistant bees with good honey-producing characteristics. On this basis, the future of quality beeswax from Mexico seems assured.
Before introduction of the European honey bee in the late nineteenth century, the Asian honey bee was China's only domesticated species. The European honey bee now dominates apiculture across China and in some areas the Asian honey bee is facing extinction.
Unfortunately there has been poor training in China of beekeepers and farmers for pesticide use, though the situation is improving. In Sichuan province overzealous pesticide use on crops has nearly wiped out honey bees, meaning the region's orchards are pollinated now by villagers with paintbrushes. According to the NGO Bees for Development (BfD), hand-pollination is preferred so farmers do not have to plant so many 'polliniser' trees which are less commercially important, and to maximise reliability of pollination. But BfD also report the reluctance of beekeepers to rent colonies to orchards since the extreme use of pesticides (even during flowering) killed many bee colonies.
Chinese honey has an ongoing history of problems with quality including antibiotic and pesticide use, and 'honey laundering', the transshipment and relabelling of contaminated or adulterated honey through third countries before export. Both the US (2001) and the EU (2002-04) banned honey imports from China after the antibiotic chloramphenicol was detected in the honey. Antibiotics accumulate in beeswax in amounts similar to in honey.
Chemical residues in beeswax and regulations
Pesticide and antibiotic problems are not unique to China. Around a third of all honey offered to EU importers in 2005 contained antibiotics3 and was rejected. The UK has no antibiotic contamination controls for beeswax (imported honey is tested by the Honey Association) though EU beeswax and honey are antibiotic-free because antibiotics are not authorised for use in apiculture in the EU.
Beeswax samples from 125 honey bee colonies across continental France in 2002 and 2003 were found to have residues of fourteen pesticides. Highest were two miticides, tau-fluvalinate (62% of samples) and coumaphos (52%), followed by the agri-insecticide endosulfan4 (23%). Similar residues have been found in other European and international samples of beeswax. Last year in testimony at a Congressional hearing on honey bee colony losses, Dr Maryann Frazier gave details of 88 samples of beeswax analysed in 2007. Twenty different pesticides were identified, with fluvalinate and coumaphos detected in every sample. Fluvalinate was measured up to incredible levels of 204 parts per million in broodcomb wax and in pollen - the official maximum residual level (MRL) in beeswax in the US is 6ppm (coumaphos, 10ppm). Other countries have no official limits for pesticide residues in beeswax5. EU regulations do stipulate maximum doses for use of authorised pesticides (some national standards are stricter), for which toxicity to bees is a consideration.
Persistence of chemicals in wax
The majority of chemicals in wax are from pesticides applied to hives by beekeepers. Lipid-soluble chemicals, eg fluvalinate, get distributed around the hive on bees' bodies, and being stable accumulate in wax. Other fat-soluble pesticides such as paradichlorobenzene6 used against wax moths, and wood protectants also can contaminate beeswax. The process of reclaiming wax does not significantly reduce contamination, as filtration cannot remove particles that are chemically bound to wax (hence they are repeatedly returned to the hive in foundation wax). As I understand it in the refining stage carbon can attract out small amounts of chemical, eg coumaphos. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation can break up fluvalinate but cannot penetrate deeply enough into wax to be effectual. Gamma radiation of foundation wax sheets destroys about 50% of pesticides.
Some lipid-soluble pesticides contain semi-volatile ingredients such as essential oils (eg, thymol) which can decay in wax. During application the majority of semi-volatile ingredients evaporate because of hive temperature with only some attaching to the wax, so accumulation over time is low. This amount can be reduced if wax is melted from combs by the use of steam.
Water-soluble chemicals such as formic acid and oxalic acid cannot dissolve or accumulate in wax, and will wash off when wax is melted in water. Any that remain entrapped in wax are removed by hydrogen peroxide in the bleaching process.
Beeswax dissolved in solvents for purifying has only non-soluble particles separated out. The solvents are volatile organic compounds (VOC) which contribute to the formation of harmful ground-level ozone (smog).
Different approaches to beekeeping
The British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) endorses four products, all synthetic pyrethroid pesticides for varroa control, labelled "Bee Friendly - when used in accordance with the directions"7. The products' chemicals have not been found to accumulate in wax at the high levels found with fluvalinate and coumaphos. The BBKA believes that positive engagement with the agro-chemical companies gives them more influence on environmental matters, but some members consider this position compromised by the BBKA receiving funding from the product manufacturers.
The Danish Beekeepers Association instead endorses bio-technical methods, such as formic acid, lactic acid and oxalic acid for varroa control. These are chemicals natural to the hive environment and found in honey. The drone broodcomb that varroa prefers to breed in is removed each spring and replaced with fresh brood foundation. Any foul brood or nosema spores in the comb wax also get eliminated from the hive, as they are destroyed during the wax refinement process. Because the majority of Danish beekeepers use these organic methods, Danish beeswax is unlikely to contain pesticides or other residues.
Conclusion
An ongoing supply of beeswax cannot be taken for granted. The future of bee colonies is uncertain but problems are recognised including at government and EU levels. CCD has a range of potential causes. Beekeepers are gaining awareness of the effects of synthetic pesticides on bee colonies - both miticides and agri-pesticides. Scientists have demonstrated contamination of wax and other hive products by these persistent chemicals. There is a lack of residue regulations for beeswax, but imported honey is better regulated and monitored.
I am making further enquiries about chemical residues in wax, implications of heating wax if they are present, and safe disposal of both pure and potentially contaminated beeswax. I'll summarise these findings in the next issue. In the meantime please be aware that suppliers and importers cannot be expected to send away every batch for residues testing, especially when there are no regulatory limits!
Many thanks for their assistance, advice and interest to: Rob Case-Green (British Wax), Mr Baldwin (Poth-Hille), David Wainright (Tropical Forest Products), Russell Wedgbury (Pesticides Safety Directorate), Ruth Beckmann (Pesticides Action Network - PAN-UK), Dave Cushman, Jane Hanscomb (both beekeepers) and batikker Isabella Whitworth.
footnotes
1 A pesticide can be a synthetic or a naturally-occurring pest control.
2 Miticide is a pesticide against mites, sometimes called acaricide.
3 Certain honeys contain natural antibiotics, eg manuka.
4 Endosulfan is banned in 55 countries, including all EU countries.
5 EU MRLs for honey are 10ppm for coumaphos and 20ppm for amitraz (from veterinary use).
6 Paradichlorobenzene is not authorised for use in UK (though some beekeepers might still use it).
footnotes update 25 March 2009
Bibliography
Ashton D (2006) 'Nosema Ceranae and Denmark'. Letter to the Web Editor, Moray Beekeepers, 28/12/06. http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/N&Views/nosema_ceranae__denmark.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Ashton D (2004) 'The Danish tradition of changing all beeswax brood combs every year'. http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/N&Views/DanWax.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Beckh G (2006) 'Steps needed to achieve EU accreditation for honey export'. 2nd Bees for Development Honey Trade Workshop, Seeta, Kampala, Uganda, October 2006. http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/proceedings_HTW2/index.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
BeeBase 'The National Bee Unit'. Central Science Laboratory. https://secure.csl.gov.uk/beebase/ (accessed 24/02/09).
BeeSource.com (1996) 'Buzzing across the Border'. http://www.beesource.com/pov/ahb/armar96.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Benjamin A (2008) 'Last flight of the honeybee?'. In The Guardian 31/05/08. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/31/animalwelfare.environment (accessed 24/02/09).
Benjamin A (2008) 'Pesticides: Germany bans chemical linked to honeybee devastation'. In The Guardian 23/05/08. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/23/wildlife.endangeredspecies (accessed 24/02/09).
Bogdanov S (2007) 'Authenticity of honey and other bee products: state of the art'. Bulletin of University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine - Cluj-Napoca. Animal Science and Biotechnologies 63:1-2. http://journals.usamvcj.ro/zootehnie/article/view/2192/2112 (accessed 25/02/09).
Bogdanov S (2006) 'Contaminants of bee products'. Apidologie 37, 1-18. http://www.apidologie.org/index.php?option=article&access=standard&Itemid=129&url=/articles/apido/pdf/2006/01/M5401.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
Borrill RD (2007) 'To show that Varroa destructor prefers and has better breeding success on large cell size worker brood compared to small cell sized worker brood of Apis mellifera mellifera'. http://simplyrawhoney.com/borrill%202007.doc (accessed 25/02/09).
Bradbear N (2005). 'Foreword and Introduction to the Proceedings'. Bees for Development Honey Trade Workshop, Dublin, Ireland, August 2005. http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/proceedings_HTW1/ (accessed 24/02/09).
Bradbear N, Martin P and Wainwright D (2003). 'Natural antibiotic found in honey'. Bees for Development Journal 72. http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/info/honey2/natural-antibiotic-found-.shtml (accessed 24/02/09).
The British Beekeepers Association 'FAQ'. http://www.britishbee.org.uk/faq.php (accessed 23/02/09).
The British Beekeepers Association (2008) 'News from the BBKA: BBKA policy on product endorsement'. http://www.britishbee.org.uk/news/statements/bbka-policy-on-product-endorsement.shtml (accessed 23/02/09).
The British Beekeepers Association (2008) 'News from the BBKA: BBKA statement on recent bee losses in Germany'. http://www.britishbee.org.uk/news/statements/bbka-statement-on-recent-bee-losses-in-germany.shtml (accessed 23/02/09).
Cannell E (2008) 'A world without bees'. Review of book by Benjamin A and McCallum B. Pesticide News 81, September 2008. http://www.pan-europe.info/Resources/Articles/A_World_Without_Bees.pdf (accessed 25/03/09).
Chambers Harrap. Search Chambers: wax. http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=wax (accessed 23/02/09).
Chauzat M-P and Faucon J-P(2007) 'Pesticide residues in beeswax samples collected from honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera L) in France'. Abstract. Pest Management Science 63:11, 1100-1106. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jws/ps/2007/00000063/00000011/art00011 (accessed 24/02/09).
COLOSS 'Welcome to the website of the project COLOSS'. http://coloss.org/ (accessed 25/02/09).
Copping J (2007) 'Flower and fruit crops facing disasteras disease kills off bees'. In The Daily Telegraph 01/04/07. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3289560/Flowers-and-fruit-crops-facing-disaster-as-disease-kills-off-bees.html (accessed 24/01/09).
Costa C, Lodesani M, Serra G, Colombo R and Sabatini AG (2008) 'Survey of acaricide residues in Italian organic and conventional beeswax'. 16th IFOAM Organic World Congress, Modena, Italy, 16-20 June 2008. http://orgprints.org/11653/01/Costa_11653_ed.doc (accessed 25/02/09).
Crane E (1999) 'Damage caused by the transport of honey bees'. In The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting, pp 377-378. Taylor and Francis. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ANTSvKj1AZEC (accessed 27/02/09).
Cummins J (2008) 'Saving the Honeybee through organic farming'. Institute of Science in Society. Press release 25/04/08. http://www.i-sis.org.uk/honeyBeeOrganicFarming.php (accessed 24/02/09).
Cushman DA (2002-05) 'Removing chemical contamination residues from beeswax'. http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/waxdecont.html (accessed 24/02/09).
Cushman DA (2000-04) 'Alternative view of the initial spread of varroa'. http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/altspread.html (accessed 24/02/09).
Dambeck H (2007) 'Mobile phones and dying bees'. In Spiegel Online International. 18/04/2007. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,477804,00.html (accessed 19/03/09).
The Danish Beekeeping Association (2007) 'The Danish Beekeeping Association'. http://www.biavl.dk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=50 (accessed 25/02/09).
Davies G (2009) 'Wax Moth control and containment'. Newton Abbot Beekeepers Association. http://www.newtonabbotbees.org.uk/pages/articles/004_waxmoth_pf.htm (accessed 25/02/09).
Dennis BP (2008). Chairman's letter. Northamptonshire Beekeepers' Association. Bee Lines November 2008. http://www.northantsbees.org.uk/beelines.html (accessed 25/02/09).
Dennis BP (2004-08) 'Bee diseases and disorders'. Lecture notes. The British Beekeepers Association http://www.britishbee.org.uk/articles/bee_diseases.php (accessed 23/02/09).
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (2009) '£4.3 million bee health funding increase announced'. News Release 21/01/09. http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090121a.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (2008) 'Bee Health - Colony Losses'. http://www.defra.gov.uk/hort/bees/news/colony.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) (2007) 'Investigation of the fate of veterinary drugs used in apiculture'. Research Project Final Report. http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=VM02140_7711_FRP.doc (accessed 24/02/09).
Dieter U (2003) 'Method for removing coumaphos from beeswax'. US Patent 6586610. http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6586610/description.html (accessed 25/02/09).
Durham M (2005) 'Honey trade issues'. Bees for Development Journal 73. Originally published in The Guardian, 21/07/04. http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/info/marketing/honey-trade-issues.shtml (accessed 24/02/09).
Environment Agency. 'Para-Dichlorobenzene (1,4-Dichlorobenzene)'. http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/pollution/1002.aspx (accessed 23/02/09).
The European Commission 'Residues of veterinary medicinal products - third countries'. Health and Consumer Protection. http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/chemicalsafety/residues/third_countries_en.print.htm (accessed 25/02/09).
European Food Safety Authority (2007) 'Beeswax (E 901) as a glazing agent and as carrier for flavours'. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC). The EFSA Journal 615, 1-28. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/BlobServer/Scientific_Opinion/afc_ej615_beeswax_op_en,0.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (1996) 'Value-added products from beekeeping: chapter 4 wax'. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletins 124. http://www.fao.org/docrep/w0076E/w0076e12.htm, /w0076e13.htm (accessed 25/02/09).
Frazier M (2008) 'Update on Colony Collapse Disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States'. Prepared testimony before the US House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, 26/06/08. http://agriculture.house.gov/testimony/110/h80626/Frazier.doc (accessed 25/02/09).
Girling R (2009) 'Plight of the humble bee'. In The Sunday Times 01/02/09. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5604401.ece (accessed 24/02/09).
Goodwin M and van Eaton C (2001) 'Control of Varroa: a guide for New Zealand beekeepers'. New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Wellington. http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/downloads/NZ_control-of-varroa-guide.pdf (accessed 24/02/09).
Gray L (2009) 'Co-op bans use of pesticides in bid to save bees'. In The Daily Telegraph 27/01/09. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4359629/Co-op-bans-use-of-pesticides-in-bid-to-save-bees.html (accessed 24/02/09).
Harst W, Kuhn J and Stever H. 'Can Electromagnetic exposure cause a change in behavious? Studying possible non-thermal influences on honey bees - an approach within the framework of educational informatics.' University of Koblenz-Landau. http://agbi.uni-landau.de/material_download/IAAS_2006.pdf (accessed 19/03/09).
Honey Shop. 'Beeswax.' http://www.honeyshop.co.uk/wax.html (accessed 23/02/09).
The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd (2001) 'A review of treatment options for control of varroa mite in New Zealand'. Report to the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry: Biosecurity, February 2001. http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/pests/varroa/papers/varroa-treatment-options.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
Information Liberation (2007) 'No Organic Bee Losses'. http://www.informationliberation.com/index.php?id=21912 (accessed 23/02/09).
Ji T, Yin L, Liu M, Bao WB and Chen GH (2008) 'Study on genetic diversity of Apis cerana cerana and Apis mellifera ligustica in China with microsatellite markers'. Research Journal of Animal Sciences 2:6, 178-182. http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/rjnas/2008/178-182.pdf (accessed 24/02.09).
Kell D (2008) 'Frogs, bees, parasites and stress - data driven analysis of species decline and biological dynamics'. In Professor Douglas Kell's blog - news, thoughts and facts from the Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council blog 15/12/08 http://blogs.bbsrc.ac.uk/index.php/2008/12/frogs-bees-parasites-and-stress/ (accessed 24/02/09).
Kimura K (date unknown) Report on the honeybee workshop. Honeybee Research Group, National and Food Research Organisation, Japan. http://www.scj.go.jp/en/sca/pdf/8th/bsum1.pdf (accessed 24/02/09).
Kuznesof PM (date unknown) 'Beeswax'. First draft, Chemical and Technical Assessment 65th JECFA. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. ftp://ftp.fao.org/es/esn/jecfa/cta_65_beeswax.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
Leclercq B 'Beeswax'. In The Honeybee and Man CDROM. http://www.beekeeping.com/leclercq/wax.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
McGrath T (date unknown) 'Rapid and reliable detection of antibiotics in honey'. Food Solutions: China. http://www.foodsolutionschina.com/pastissue/article.asp?art=25933&issue=151 (accessed 25/02/09).
Martin P (2005) 'Honey Quality'. Speech given at Annual Meeting of UK Bee Farmers Association, 2005. http://www.hipa.org.uk/Documents/public/HONEY%20QUALITY.doc (accessed 24/02/09).
Martin SJ and Medina LM (2004) 'Africanized honeybees have unique tolerance to Varroa mites'. Letter to the Editor. Trends in Parasitology 20:3, pp112-114. http://www.lasi.group.shef.ac.uk/pdf/Martin%2056.pdf (accessed 23/02/09).
Messer AE (2008) 'Pesticide build-up could lead to poor honey bee health'. http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/Pesticide-build-up-could-lead-to-poor-honey-bee-health-4499-2/ (accessed 25/02/09).
Michaud V (2005) 'Antibiotic residues in honey: the FEEDM view'. Apiacta 40, 52-54. http://www.apimondia.org/apiacta/articles/2005/michaud_1.pdf (accessed 24/02/09).
Monroy MCOJ and Torres BSL 'An Africanised bee selection technique for the Eastern Mexico beekeeping'. http://www.beekeeping.com/articles/us/africanized_bee_selection.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Moray Beekeepers (2009) 'Co-op bids to tackle bee decline'. Co-operative Wholesale Society press release, 28 January 2009. http://www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/N&Views/coop.htm (accessed 19/03/09).
National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) and IUCN/SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) (2006) 'Varroa destructor (arachnid)'. Global Invasive Species Database. http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=478&fr=1&sts=sss&lang=EN (accessed 25/02/09).
New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2005) 'Apiculture'. http://www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/rural-nz/statistics-and-forecasts/farm-monitoring/2005/horticulture/hort-2005-10.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Partap U and Partap T (2000) 'Pollination of apples in China'. Bees for Development Journal 54. http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/info/info/pollination/pollination-of-apples-in-.shtml (accessed 24/02/09).
Persano Oddo L, Pulcini P, Morgia C, Marinelli E, Allegrini F, De Pace F and Ricci L (2003) 'Acaricide residues in wax: a research in central Italy'. Proceedings of XXXVIII Congress Apimondia, Ljubliana. http://www.apicoltura.org/file_pdf/apimondia2003.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
Pesticide Action Network Europe 'Bees and pesticides'. Fact sheet, 05/09/08. http://www.pan-europe.info/Resources/Factsheets/Bees_&_Pollination.pdf (accessed 25/03/09).
Pest Control UK 'The sad, strange fate of the honey bee'. http://www.pestcontrol-uk.org/pests/bees/casestudies/the-sad-strange-fate-of-the-honey-bee.php (accessed 24/02/09).
Ratnieks F and Kirk P (1996) 'Agricultural Impact of Africanized Honey Bees in Sinaloa, Mexico'. University of California, Riverside: Entomology - Bees. http://bees.ucr.edu/sinaloa.html (accessed 23/02/09).
Reigate Beekeepers (1999) 'Extracting Beeswax'. http://www.reigatebeekeepers.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=88 (accessed 23/02/09).
Rowse Honey 'Honey'. Educational study sheets 1-4. http://www.rowsehoney.co.uk/_schools/02.php, /03.php, /04.php, /05.php (accessed 23/02/09).
Rowse Honey 'Honey and you: all about bees'. http://www.rowsehoney.co.uk/articles/honey-and-you/honeybees-hives-and-humans (accessed 23/02/09).
Rowse Honey 'Kids and health: the science of manuka honey'. http://www.rowsehoney.co.uk/viewarticle.php?navid=n05&contentid=c55 (accessed 23/02/09).
Rowse Honey (2009) 'News: Defra increase funding for bee research'. http://www.rowsehoney.co.uk/articles/news/rowse-news (accessed 23/02/09).
Rush T (2008) 'Soil Association calls for neonicotinoid ban'. In Farmers Guardian 03/10/08. http://www.farmersguardian.com/story.asp?sectioncode=19&storycode=21724 (accessed 24/02/09).
Schacker M 'A spring without bees: how colony collapse disorder has endangered our food supply.' http://aspringwithoutbees.com/ (accessed 24/02/09).
Schneider A (2008) 'Experts call for better US standards for honey'. In Seattle Post Intelligencer, 31/12/08.http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/394200_honeysolutions31.html (accessed 24/0/09).
Schneider A (2008) 'Honey laundering: a sticky trail of intrigue and crime'. In Seattle Post Intelligencer, 30/12/08. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/394053_honey30.asp (accessed 24/0/09).
Science Daily (1998) 'Purdue University researchers find 'mean gene' in Africanized 'killer' honey bees'. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980331080426.htm (accessed 23/02/09).
Scottish Beekeepers Association (2007) 'Recovery and Recycling of Beeswax'. SBA Technical Data Sheet No 10. http://www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk/learning/documents/number%2010%20recycling%20beeswax.pdf (accessed 24/02/09).
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) 'para-Dichlorobenzene'. Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory. http://apps.sepa.org.uk/spripa/Pages/SubstanceInformation.aspx?pid=36 (accessed 25/02/09).
Sierra Club (2008) 'Sierra Club urges EPA to suspend nicotinyl insecticides'. Press release, 31/07/08. http://www.sierraclub.org/biotech/whatsnew/whatsnew_2008-07-30.asp (accessed 24/02/09).
Somers ML and Lovett T (2008) 'BBKA endorsement policy'. http://www.biobees.com/library/BBKA/BBKA_Endorsement_Policy.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
Sommeijer MJ 'About the programme'. The Social Ethology of Tropical Bees, Department of Biology, University of Utrecht. http://www.bio.uu.nl/sommeijer/programme.html (accessed 24/02/09).
Sorenson D (2007) '"Killer bees" seem resistant to disorder'. In Arizona Daily Star 30/03/07. http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/176000 (accessed 4/02/09).
Spivak M (2008) 'What's going on with the honey bees?'. Powerpoint show, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, University of Minnesota. http://www.cfans.umn.edu/sites/da3af65c-e373-4e98-a2a9-a33f17f8a3ac/uploads/CCDClassesNoQuizzes08_2.pdf (accessed 24/02/09).
Taylor MA, Goodwin RM, McBrydie HM and Cox HM (2008) 'The effect of honey bee worker brood cell size on Varroa destructor infestation and reproduction'. Journal of Apicultural Research 47:4, 239-242. http://www.ibra.org.uk/articles/20081124_18 (accessed 25/02/09).
Thornton B (2008) 'Extract from A World Without Bees'. In BBC Newsnight blog 21/08/08. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/fromthewebteam/2008/08/extract_from_a_world_without_b.html (accessed 24/02/09).
Underwood RM and vanEngelsdorp D (2007) 'Colony collapse disorder: have we seen this before?'. Beeculture. Link to pdf at http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorderInfo.html#press (accessed 03/03/09)
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2009) 'Program Highlights: Overview of the Registration Review Program'. Pesticides: Registration Review. http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/highlights.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2008) 'Pesticide issues in the works: honey bee colony collapse disorder'. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/intheworks/honeybee.htm (accessed 24/02/09).
Vidal J (2008) 'UK honeybee population in crisis as winter weather devastates colonies'. In The Guardian 08/05/09. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/08/wildlife.endangeredspecies (accessed 24/02/09).
Wallner K and Fries I (2003) 'Control of the mite Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies'. Pesticide Outlook 14, 80-84. http://www.rsc.org/publishing/journals/PO/article.asp?doi=b301510f (pdf link accessed 24/02/09).
Warrell H (2008) 'European vote to take sting out of falling bee numbers'. 21 November 2008. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6484fcac-b7bd-11dd-ac6d-0000779fd18c,dwp_uuid=70662e7c-3027-11da-ba9f-00000e2511c8.html?nclick_check=1 (accessed 23/02/09).
Watts M (2008) 'Time to act on endosulfan'. Pesticide News 81, 3-7,20. http://www.pan-uk.org/PDFs/endosulfan.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
White G 'Concern over Imidacloprid - Systemic Insecticide used on Oilseed Rape in UK'. Digest of letter to UK Advisory Committee on Pesticides. The British Beekeeping Association. http://www.britishbee.org.uk/articles/imidacloprid.php (accessed 23/02/09).
WorldChanging.com (2007) 'Apiculture and Colony Collapse Disorder'. http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006162.html (accessed 24/02/09).
Workman D (2007) 'Top honey exporting countries: Re-labelled bee product scams scream out for WTO controls.' http://world-trade-organization.suite101.com/article.cfm/top_honey_exporting_countries (accessed 24/04/09).
WSU Skagit County (2008) 'Honey bee Colony Collpase Disorder: by a Skagit County Master Gardener'. Washington State University Skagit County Extension. http://skagit.wsu.edu/mg/2008AA/050908.pdf (accessed 24/02/09).
Xie X, Peng W, and Zeng Z (2008) 'Breeding the mite-resistant honey bee by nutritional crossbreed technology'. Translation of Abstract. Agricultural Sciences in China 7:6, 762-767 http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1671292708601121 (accessed 24/02/09).
Zeissloff E (2007) 'Natural Cell Size'. Translated by Heaf D from original article 'Natürliche Zellgröße', Journal Apicole Luxembourgeois March, 2007. http://www.biobees.com/downloads/zeissloff_cell_size_en.pdf (accessed 25/02/09).
Robin Paris, February 2009
Updated 25 March 2009
All text copyright of the artist © 1998-2009 Robin Paris All Rights Reserved