Styrene + Bees + Beeswax

Community and Forum → Entomological collections → Styrene + Bees + Beeswax

Bardano, 23.11.2010 11:31

Good day, dear chemists.

Please clarify these questions. Beehives (artificial homes for bees) made of dense hard expanded polystyrene are now on sale. A significant advantage is excellent thermal insulation, which protects bee colonies from cold in winter and heat in summer. I was able to find out that polystyrene itself is not toxic, but it does contain residual styrene. In addition, styrene is formed when polymer bonds break down over time. Styrene is highly toxic to humans. Question one. Can you guess how toxic styrene is to bees and what consequences it might have? Question two. How styrene interacts with beeswax substances (from Wikipedia: "The wax contains about 50 different chemical compounds, including esters (up to 75%), extreme hydrocarbons (11-17 %), free fatty acids (13-15%), water - up to 2.5%"), and is it possible to protect the nest from styrene penetration with a layer of beeswax ( for example, using a thin board soaked in wax placed on the inside of the nest)?

Comments

23.11.2010 12:27, Bardano

The question also arose: how does styrene affect bee products: beeswax, beeswax and propolis? Is it able to linger, accumulate in them? Can they become toxic? It should be added that the inner surface of the bee hive is covered with a layer of propolis.

From Wikipedia:

Beeswax is a product of the vital activity of bees, a complex organic compound.
The wax contains about 50 different chemical compounds, including esters (up to 75%), ultimate hydrocarbons (11-17 %), free fatty acids (13-15%), water - up to 2.5%.

Honey bee — a food product that is partially digested in the goiter of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) nectar. Honey contains 13-20 % water, 75-80 % carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, sucrose), vitamins B1, B2, B6, E, K, C, provitamin A-carotene, folic acid.

Propolis (Greek: πρόπολις); bee glue, ouse — a dark resinous substance produced by bees to cover up crevices and insulate from foreign objects in the hive. Propolis is a sticky substance that bees collect from the spring buds of trees (poplar, alder, birch, etc.) and modify with their enzymes. In urban conditions, bees can collect propolis and other viscous substances — bitumen, plasticine, paints.
Propolis contains terpene compounds (50-55 % of vegetable resins, 8-10 % of volatile substances, about 30 % of wax, terpenic acids).
It is known that propolis contains resinous acids and alcohols, artipillin, phenols, tannins, balms (cinnamon alcohol, cinnamic acid), wax, essential oils, flavonoids, amino acids, a small amount of vitamins of group B.
Typical components of propolis: acacetin, apigenin, alpha-acetooxybetulenol, kaempferid, rhamnocintrin, ermanin.