How to Get & Breed Bees in Minecraft (+ Bonus Tips)
Uncover the wonders of bees in Minecraft! Learn all about bee behavior, honey production, and pollination in this comprehensive guide.
Updated July 25, 2023.
Welcome to the delightful world of beekeeping in Minecraft! Introduced in the "Buzzy Bees" update back in 1.15.0, these peaceful and buzzing creatures bring a whole new level of charm and ecological dynamics to the game. As you explore flower-rich biomes, you'll encounter these adorable insects buzzing around beehives and bee nests, diligently collecting nectar to produce the sweetest of rewards: honey. And now you can domesticate and farm them!
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Where to Find Bees in Minecraft
Bees spawn around beehives and bee nests in flower-rich biomes, either hanging from trees or on the ground. The most common biomes include:
- Flower Forest: This biome has a high concentration of flowers, making it an ideal habitat for bees.
- Sunflower Plains: The presence of sunflowers and other flowers in this biome attracts bees.
- Plains: Bees can also spawn in regular plains biomes, especially when flowers are present.
- Birch Forest: Birch forests with flowers are another possible location to encounter bees, but the chances are low.
- Forest: Bees may occasionally spawn in regular forests if flowers are nearby, but the chances are even lower.
Bringing Bees Home in Minecraft
Before venturing out to find bees, ensure that you build a hive at your base with 6 wooden planks and 3 honeycombs in the following recipe:
After finding bees, you can attract them and get them to follow you home by holding out a flower near them. Once you bring it near your beehive, the bee will register it as its new home as long as there are flowers nearby.
Pro tip: You can breed bees in Minecraft by feeding them flowers. When baby bees grow up, they might have unique traits inherited from their parents, such as increased speed or resilience.
» Need help with your first Minecraft house? See our guide to building a house
Bonus Beekeeping Tips in Minecraft
- Honey and honeycomb Bees create honey when they return to their nests with nectar. You can use shears to collect honeycomb from bee nests or use glass bottles to gather honey from beehives. Honeycomb can be used to craft honeycomb blocks useful for redstone projects, and honey can be used as a food source.
- Pollination Bees play a vital role in farms. As they collect nectar from flowers, they help pollinate nearby crops, increasing their growth rate.
- Aggression Bees are generally peaceful, but if a player attacks a bee or its nest, nearby bees will become aggressive and sting the player, causing damage. You can calm bees down with the smoke from a campfire.
» Need more animal breeding tips in Minecraft? See our guides for horses and frogs
