Chinese wax

Two scale insects produce the wax: Ceroplastes ceriferus, common in China and India, and the related Ericerus pela, found in China and Japan. These insects deposit their secretions on the branches of certain species of Ligustrum (privet) tree. The insects and their secretions are harvested and boiled with water to extract the raw wax. The insect bodies, which settle to the bottom, are used as food for swine. A description of the cultivation of the insect for wax production is given in a November 1932 article from the Nature Magazine: The substance scraped off the branches is boiled in water, where the wax collects on the surface. The wax is later remelted and poured into a deep pan, where it is allowed to cool to form a transparent crystalline mass. This crystalline substance produced by E. pela is white in colour but may have a slight yellowish tinge, and it has no taste or smell. ==Uses==

Chinese wax is used chiefly in the manufacture of sizes, candles, temple images and other articles connected with ceremonial worship, and polish for furniture. It is used for burnishing the back of Chinese hanging scrolls with a stone. It is also used in cosmetics in China and Japan. In China the wax has been employed medicinally. It may be ingested as a remedy for hoarseness, pain, worms, nervousness, and to aid the mending of broken bones. It may also be applied externally as an ointment for treatment of wounds. ==Other names==

Other names for Chinese wax include: • Chinese insect wax • Chinese tree wax • Chinese white wax • Insect wax In Japan the tree yielding it is called ibota and the wax ibotaro. == References ==