Andrew Walmsley / Silver eye / Grey backed white eye (Zosterops lateralis) in flowering Pohutukawa tree (Metrosideros excelsa) Botanic Gardens, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand, December

Stephen Dalton / Honey bee (Apis mellifera) filling honey storage cells in the hive, UK

Nigel Bean / Meadow Wax Cap {Hygrocybe pratensis} in grassland, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK.

Doug Perrine / Spermaceti candles made from Sperm whale wax, Whaler's village museum, Hawaii

Ingo Arndt / Atlas moth caterpillar with wax coating for protection from parasites {Attacus atlas} Malaysia

Terry Whittaker / 2020VISION / Flock of Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) flying over a hedge with Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster integerrimus) berries, Whitstable, Kent, England, UK, January. Did you know? Waxwings are so called for the re...

Roland Seitre / Gonzalo Cardona Molina, coordinator of the Andean Parrot Project, in wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) highlands of Tolima. Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Yellow-eared Parrots (Ognorhynchus icterotis) at their nest hole in wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense). Endangered. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Yellow-eared Parrots (Ognorhynchus icterotis) taking flight from broken wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense). Endangered. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Yellow-eared Parrots (Ognorhynchus icterotis) grooming on broken wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense). Endangered. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Yellow-eared Parrots (Ognorhynchus icterotis) perched on broken wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense). Endangered. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Gonzalo Cardona Molina, coordinator of the Andean Parrot Project, observing yellow-eared parrots in wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense)s. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Yellow-eared Parrots (Ognorhynchus icterotis) perched on broken wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense). Endangered. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Quindio Wax Palms (Ceroxylon quindiuense) in high forested landscape - habitat and breeding areas of the yellow-eared parrot. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Quindio Wax Palms (Ceroxylon quindiuense) in high forested landscape - habitat and breeding areas of the yellow-eared parrot. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Quindio Wax Palms (Ceroxylon quindiuense) in high forested landscape - habitat and breeding areas of the Yellow-eared parrot. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Gonzalo Cardona Molina, coordinator of the Andean Parrot Project, in wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) highlands of Tolima. Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Quindio Wax Palms (Ceroxylon quindiuense) in high forested landscape - habitat and breeding areas of the yellow-eared parrot. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Roland Seitre / Quindio Wax Palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense), typical trees for yellow-eared parrots to breed in. Tolima, Colombia, 2010.

Piotr Naskrecki / Fulgorid Planthopper (Pterodictya reticularis) with wax that easily breaks off to allow it to escape when attacked, Sipaliwini, Surinam

Simon Colmer / Honey bee wax gland (Apis mellifera) Sussex, UK

Pete Oxford / Huaorani man making a feather crown. The crowns are made from a split vine and feathers from various birds such as toucans, parrots and macaws are glued on with heated bees wax. Gabaro Community, Yasu...

Pete Oxford / Huaorani man making a feather crown. The crowns are made from a split vine and feathers from various birds such as toucans, parrots and macaws are glued on with heated bees wax. Gabaro Community, Yasu...

Pete Oxford / Huaorani man making a feather crown. The crowns are made from a split vine and feathers from various birds such as toucans, parrots and macaws are glued on with heated bees wax. Gabaro Community, Yasu...

Mark Moffett / Bee (Tetragonisca angustula) exiting wax nest entrance, Santa Rita, Panama

Chien Lee / Indonesian Wax Ginger (Tapeinochilos ananassae) flowering, Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia

Angelo Gandolfi / Three Scarlet Wax caps (Hygrophorus / Hygrocybe punicea) fungi

Gary K. Smith / Fruit Propagation 'whip & tongue grafting' gardener grafting Apple (Malus sylvestris) onto M26 grafting stock, applying hot grafting wax to rootstock and attached scion, Sequence 7/7, UK, April

Gary K. Smith / Fruit Propagation 'whip & tongue grafting' gardener grafting Apple (Malus sylvestris) onto M26 grafting stock, applying hot grafting wax to rootstock and attached scion, Sequence 6/7, UK, April

Murray Cooper / Andean Wax Palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) fruiting, Colombia

Gary K. Smith / Chillies, 'Hungarian wax yellow' drying on garden sieve on the potting shed bench, UK, September.

Robert Thompson / Wax cap fungus {Hygrocybe persistens} Streedagh Dunes, County Silgo, Republic of Ireland, August

Robert Thompson / Wax cap fungus {Hygrocybe conica var conicoides} Streedagh Dunes, County Silgo, Republic of Ireland, August

Robert Thompson / Wax cap fungus {Hygrocybe persistens} Streedagh Dunes, County Silgo, Republic of Ireland, August

Robert Thompson / Wax cap fungus {Hygrocybe conica} Streedagh Dunes, County Silgo, Republic of Ireland, August

Robert Thompson / Wax cap fungus {Hygrocybe conica var conicoides} Streedagh Dunes, County Silgo, Republic of Ireland, August

Martin Gabriel / Sealing wax palm trees (Cyrtostachys renda) native to Malaysia, growing on Tortuga Beach, Costa Rica

Martin Gabriel / Sealing wax palm (Cyrtostachys renda) stem detail, native to Malaysia, growing on Tortuga Beach, Costa Rica

James Christensen / Fulgorid Planthopper (Pterodictya reticularis) pair feeding on sap, showing plumes of excreted white wax, Colon, Panama

James Christensen / Fulgorid Planthopper (Pterodictya reticularis) feeding on sap, showing plumes of excreted white wax, Colon, Panama

Piotr Naskrecki / Planthopper nymph showing waxy filaments, Atewa Range, Ghana

Michael & Patricia Fogden / Darkling Beetle (Eucomaria sp) in defensive posture, note yellow wax deposit for heat regulation, Namib Desert, Namibia

George McCarthy / Meadow wax cap fungus {Hygrocybe pratensis} UK

Heidi & Hans-Juergen Koch / Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) honeycomb cells filled with honey and covered by wax, Bee Station at the Bavarian Julius-Maximilians-University of Wurzburg, Germany

PREMAPHOTOS / Whitefly nymphs (Aleyrodidae) protected by the long filaments of wax they produce, in rainforest, Queensland, Australia

Duncan Mcewan / Hygrocybe miniata toadstools in Sphagnum mound, Scotland

Duncan Mcewan / Scarlet Hood wax caps (Hygrocybe coccinea) Scotland

Duncan Mcewan / Parrot Wax Cap (Hygrocybe psittacina) Scotland

Duncan Mcewan / Parrot Wax Cap (Hygrocybe psittacina) Scotland

Nigel Bean / Scarlet Hood wax caps growing in grass {Hygrocybe coccinea} Isles of Scilly, October, UK

Duncan Mcewan / Blackening Wax Cap (Hygrocybe nigrescens) Scotland

Nature Production / Wax Myrtle / Bayberry berries and leaves {Myrica rubra} Japan

Simon Colmer / Molded wax agave flower (Echeveria agavoides), from Mexico

David Shale / Man boiling up honeycomb to remove wax, Nepal

Jane Burton / Domestic Cat {Felis catus} 28-day, handler checking for wax and Ear mites.

Nigel Bean / Yellow wax cap, probably {Hygrocybe chlorophana} in grassland, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK

Nigel Bean / Yellow wax cap, probably {Hygrocybe chlorophana} in grassland, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK

Nigel Bean / Meadow Wax Cap {Hygrocybe pratensis} close-up of gills, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK.

Nigel Bean / Meadow Wax Cap {Hygrocybe pratensis} in grassland, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK.

Nigel Bean / Yellow wax cap, probably {Hygrocybe chlorophana} in grassland, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK

Nigel Bean / Yellow wax cap, probably {Hygrocybe chlorophana} in grassland, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK

Nigel Bean / Meadow Wax Cap {Hygrocybe pratensis} close-up of gills, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK.

Nigel Bean / Meadow Wax Cap {Hygrocybe pratensis} in grassland, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK.

Jane Burton / Domestic Cat {Felis catus} 28-days, handler checking for wax and Ear mites.

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Weaving wax palm leaves into basket, Aracati, Ceara, NE Brazil

Kim Taylor / Honey Bee workers, underside showing abdomenal wax glands, UK.

Kim Taylor / Woolly aphids covered in wax filaments {Aphididae} on douglas fir tree. UK.

Pete Oxford / Making wax honeycomb dividers, Community Bee Culture Project, Pro Pueblo Foundation, Ecuador

Gerry Ellis / Indonesian Wax Ginger (Tapeinochilos ananassae) flower, lowland tropical rainforest, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

Pete Oxford / Honey and beeswax candles. Community Bee Culture Project, Pro Pueblo Foundation, Ecuador

Robert Thompson / Wax cap fungus (Hygrocybe sp) Annagarriff Wood NNR, Peatlands, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK, September