Honey bee workers have four pairs of special wax-secreting glands on the undersides of their abdomens. From these glands, they secrete liquified wax, which hardens into thin scales when exposed to the air. As the worker bee ages, these glands atrophy so the task of making wax is left to younger bees. The bees use the wax to make hexagonal cells which they used to hold their eggs, larvae, pupa and honey.