Wax Foundation & Plastic Foundation

Wax foundation or honeycomb base is a plate made of wax forming the base of one honeycomb. It is used in beekeeping to give the bees a foundation on which they can build the honeycomb. Wax foundation is considered one of the most important inventions in modern beekeeping. Plastic foundation is made of PS, available in Langstroth beehive frame, Dadant beehive frame, NZ beehive frame etc. 

Wax or plastic foundation is inserted into a wooden frame through the top and is usually connected to the side bars with wire. It is not used in foundationless frames or in plastic frames where the foundation is made of plastic and is part of the frame itself. 

Wired Wax Foundaiton, 

Plastic Foundation, 

Wax foundation has some advantages over letting bees build their own comb:

It provides a guide for bees to build straight comb. Without foundation, the beekeeper runs the risk of having comb built outside the hive frame when they start, preventing its easy removal for inspection.

Foundation built comb is usually stronger in part due to the wiring embedded in the wax. This allows for centrifuge extraction.

Foundation allows beekeepers to increase the size of the cells on the honeycomb. By stamping bigger cells on the foundation than what bees would naturally build, the beekeeper is guiding bees to build bigger cells, increasing the size of worker bees as well as the volume of the cells for honey storage. Most foundation being stamped with cells measuring 5.4 millimetres (0.21 in) while the naturally built worker cell measures 4.6 millimetres (0.18 in) to 5.1 millimetres (0.20 in) that leads to an increase of a linear increase of 110% of the original size and a volume increase of 157% of the original size.

A frame has to be wired so that the wax foundation could be inserted into it. The foundation is then soldered with the wire by using a spur embedder or electric current. Also extant are wax foundations with embedded wire that only need to be inserted into the frame. 

The plastic foundation can be inserted into the beehive frame directly if correct size. Usually the bottom bar will be grooved if beekeepers use plastic foundation.