The impeding effect of plant surfaces covered with three-dimensional wax on attachment and locomotion of insects has been shown previously in numerous experimental studies. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of different parameters of crystalline wax coverage on insect attachment. We performed traction experiments with the beetle Coccinella septempunctata and pull-off force measure...

We present a physically-inspired model of wax crayons, which synthesizes drawings from collections of userspecified strokes. Paper is represented by a height-field texture, and a crayon is modelled with a 2D mask that evolves as it interacts with the paper. The amount of wax deposition is computed based on the crayon contact profile, contact force, and friction. Previously deposited wax is smea...

Rice Bran wax is obtained from natural sources and is abundantly available in the country. Rice bran wax is suitable for use in chocolate enrobes, as an enteric coating for candy and lozenges, as a plasticizing material in chewing gums etc. Present study attempts to find if rice bran wax is useful as ointment base. The oleaginous type ointment base is prepared by using rice bran wax and evaluat...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The waxy cuticle is the first point of contact for many herbivorous and pathogenic organisms on rose plants. Previous studies have reported the average composition of the combined wax extract from both sides of rose leaves. Recently, the compositions of the waxes on the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of Rosa canina leaves were determined separately. In this paper, a first repo...

The protective wax coating on plant surfaces has long been considered to be non-uniform in composition at a subcellular scale. In recent years, direct evidence has started to accumulate showing quantitative compositional differences between the epicuticular wax (i.e. wax exterior to cutin that can be mechanically peeled off) and intracuticular wax (i.e. wax residing within the mechanically resi...

The wax coverage of the waxy zone in Nepenthes alata pitchers consists of two clearly distinguishable layers, designated the upper and lower wax layers. Since these layers were reported to reduce insect attachment, they were considered to have anti-adhesive properties. However, no reliable adhesion tests have been performed with these wax layers. In this study, pull-off force measurements were ...

We used the proboscis extension reflex of honeybees to test their ability to discriminate between comb waxes of different ages (wax scales, 1-week-old wax, 2- to 3-year-old wax, 8- to 10-year-old wax). Such waxes differ in their chemical composition, and an ability to discriminate between them may aid the orientation of the bees in the nest. To train the bees, we used whole extracts of waxes an...

Hydroprocessing has become the main technology for the production of API Group II and III base oils. One of the key properties is viscosity index for Group II and III base oils. The effect of wax content in hydrocracker unconverted oil on viscosity index and yield was studied in a 400 kton/year hydroisomerization dewaxing plant at a total pressure of 15 MPa, a feed rate of 38 ton/hour, and a ga...

Crop traits can alter economically important interactions between plants, pests, and biological control agents. For example, a reduced waxy bloom on the surface of pea plants alters interactions between pea aphids and their natural enemies. In this study, we assess whether the effect of wax reduction extends beyond the 2 or 3 arthropod species closely associated with the plants and into the str...

U ltrastructure of the epicuticular wax of four commercially grown Canadian cultivars of canola (Brassica campestris cvs. Tobin and Candle, B. napus cvs. Altex and W estar) was investigated. Freeze-drying and air-drying methods of specimen preparation for scanning electron microscopy were compared. The freeze-drying method resulted in disruption and possible washing away of wax crystals, wherea...