The insect must consume eight pounds of honey to produce one pound of wax for the combs. Because beeswax burns slowly and has a pleasant smell it makes fine candles. Beeswax is used in ointments, lipsticks, polishes, water proofing compounds, crayons, gum, ink, transparent paper and many other products. There are 125 listed uses for beeswax. The most important contribution of the honey bee to the economy is its pollination of fruits, nuts, vegetables.
Honey bees pollinate more flowers than any other insect.
They are the only insect that can be moved to the fields for the purpose of pollination. The importance of the honey bee to agriculture is seen by the fact that more than 50 of the crops cultivated in the United States require insect pollination. Bees are entirely dependent on flowers for food. There is no doubt that bees and flowers evolved simultaneously. Even as they ensure their own survival by gathering food they ensure the survival of plants by pollinating them.