Introduced in the 1.15 Buzzy Bees update, bees are one of the cutest mobs in Minecraft. They are the only mob in the game that has a 'home,' which can be a bit confusing. Finding bees, or getting more of them to spawn can be even more unclear.

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That extra effort comes with extra reward, though, allowing for the sustainable farming of honey and beeswax. Thankfully, this guide is here to teach you everything there is to know about bees!

Updated March 15, 2023 by Branden Lizardi: With every Minecraft update, more and more mobs are added to the game. From axolotls to allays, many of them are downright adorable. And yet, they're not as much of the bee's knees than bees! We've revisited this guide to ensure that it keeps up to date with new content and remains clear and easy to understand. Happy keeping!

Naturally Spawning Bees

Bees and bee nests will spawn in biomes with flowers and trees. Here are the suitable biomes, as well as spawn rates for bees:

This is specific to naturally generated oak or birch trees.

Naturally, spawning nests will appear in trees, with three bees inside. To make your bee search as efficient as possible, search for normal plains and sunflower plains. These biomes are pretty common so you shouldn't have a hard time finding a bee nest.

How To Spawn Your Own Bee Nests With Saplings

If you don't want to search for a bee nest, try spawning one yourself! To do this, you will need saplings, flowers, and bonemeal.

You spawn bee nests yourself by planting saplings near flowers. A sapling will have a five percent chance to spawn a bee nest if it is grown within two blocks of a flower. You can speed up the tree's growth by using bonemeal.

This may take a while. However, it is helpful if you are not near an environment where bees will spawn. Bee nests spawned from saplings will hold one to three bees.

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Do Bees Sting?

Bees can definitely get angry and sting you. A bee's eyes will become red and they will attempt to sting you if you disturb their nests. But once a bee stings you, it will die.

To avoid a bee's wrath, try placing a campfire underneath their nest. The smoke will relax the bees, rendering them harmless. Although the smoke will essentially neutralize them, they can still accidentally go into the fire and die. To eliminate this from happening, place a carpet over the fire. This will allow the bees to safely enter and exit their nest.

You can make a quick and easy smoke system by placing a trap door over a campfire. Open the door to release the smoke and calm the next, then close it to return them to normal behavior.

If you want to completely uproot a bee nest, use any tool enchanted with silk touch. This will remove the nest without angering the bees. Additionally, you can relocate the bees to another location without losing any in the process.

Can You Breed Bees?

Like every other animal in Minecraft, you can breed bees. To breed, just give two bees a flower. Doing this will send the bees into 'love mode,' and red hearts will appear over their heads. If you are holding a flower, any nearby bee will begin to follow you, making it easy for you to give flowers to them.

Bees in love mode will find a partner and make a baby bee. The baby bee will be tiny, but you can speed up their growth by giving them more flowers.

You can use a lead on a bee as well. Although it may look silly, a lead on a bee allows you to easily move them. Leads can be used on angered bees too.

How To Farm Bees

If you need a lot of honey or honeycomb, consider making yourself an apiary!

That'll involve making Beehives for the bees to live in, coaxing them away from their home, and harvesting the fruits of your labour without taking tons of damage! Check out our guide for a step-by-step breakdown of the process.

Harvesting Honey

To harvest honey, approach any bee nest that is dripping honey. Using an empty bottle on the nest will give you some honey! Be careful though, this will anger the bees if you haven't placed a campfire yet. Check out our guide on harvesting honey for more information.

You can craft with the honey bottle, or just drink the honey. Drinking honey will restore three hunger points, but since it isn't the easiest resource to get, it's not an efficient food source.

Combining four bottles of honey will create one honey block. Honey blocks are semi-transparent blocks that can be placed. The block will slow anyone who passes over. Additionally, you can slide down a wall of honey without taking as much fall damage.

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Honeycomb

Another material you can obtain from bee nests is honeycomb. To get honeycomb, use a pair of sheers on a nest. Doing so will get you up to 3 honeycombs, which can be crafted into a few different objects.

Honeycomb Uses Include...

• Combining 4 honeycombs to get a honeycomb block
• Create beehives
• Craft candles
• Craft waxed copper

Bee Nests vs. Beehives - What's The Difference?

There is a difference between beehives and bee nests. A bee nest is a block that spawns in trees. The nest is spawned, and cannot be crafted.

Beehives, on the other hand, can only be crafted. They are essentially crafted versions of bee nests. To craft this, you will need

• 6 planks
• 3 honeycombs

Beehives are like an 'overflow' housing for bees that you breed. A bee nest can only hold 3 bees, so if you breed more, then they will move into the hive. This is important if you are planning on making a bee farm for materials. After bees have moved into the hive, it functions just like a bee nest. After the bees get to work, you can harvest honey and honeycomb. As long as the bees are alive, you can continue harvesting materials.

That's all there is to know about bees! Now get out there and make your own honey farm.

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