Black beeswax cells, especially cells used repeatedly for reaing worker brood.
Freshly created beeswax comb is molded from white wax flakes secreted by worker bees. Bees walk on the surface cells and it begins to darken with traffic. Brood comb that is used for subsequent generations of bee brood becomes darker and darker until it appears black. The darkening is due to the cocoon that sticks to the hexagonal walls of the cell.
Bee bread stored in comb cells also leads to darkening of comb. Comb that is exclusively used for honey comb remains lighter in color.
Aged dark beeswax comb
Carolina Beekeeper 2022. Black honeycomb: what to do with it. https://carolinahoneybees.com/black-honeycomb/
Carter, Anthony. 2022. What makes honeycomb dark. https://beekeepinginsider.com/what-makes-honeycomb-dark/
