Opinion

I would be remiss if I didn’t use this space this week to give a very large congratulations and a standing ovation to all of those who were involved in organizing and hosting the various Juneteenth events that were held this past week.

Beeswax is a fascinating material with many practical uses in cosmetics, lubrication, preservation, and candle-making. You may have wondered, “Where does beeswax come from?” “How do the bees form it into comb?” “How do beekeepers get frames of beeswax comb? Let’s go to an entomology expert for a few facts. Ms. Rusty Burlew is a noted honeybee researcher and author, with a good website honeybeesuite.com. She gives us the wax lowdown: “Honeybees have four pairs of wax producing glands on the ventral (under) side of abdominal segments 4 through 7. The ability of worker bees to produce wax increases gradually from birth and peaks when the bees are 12 to 18 days old.

This newly-named Texas Superstar plant is worth your attention: Pavonia is truly strong and stunning. The plant goes by a lot of names, probably because it grows in many regions of Texas. It’s also called rock rose, Pavonia mallow, rose Pavonia, Texas mallow, and las Rosas de San Juan. Ask for “Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala),” and nurseries will know this plant.