Overview
A Bee is the only mob that improves a farm just by existing near it. Pollinated bees flying over crops speed their growth, and a nest they return to fills one honey level at a time up to 5, at which point it drips and you harvest it. That harvest is the whole economy: shears take 3 honeycomb, a glass bottle takes honey, and honeycomb waxes copper to stop it oxidising — the only way to freeze a copper build at the colour you want. The catch is temper. A Bee has 10 health and is normally placid, but harvest a nest or hive without a lit campfire beneath it and every Bee inside comes out angry, stings for Poison, and dies shortly afterwards, because a Bee that stings loses its stinger and perishes. A campfire two or three blocks under the nest, with the smoke reaching it, pacifies the whole colony and makes harvesting free. Bees will not fly at night, in rain, or underwater, and they navigate by line of sight to flowers within about 22 blocks. Breed them with any small flower and the nest population grows. Nests generate on roughly 5% of oak and birch trees in plains and far more often in flower forests and meadows.
Honeycomb and honey bottles. Honeycomb waxes copper and crafts candles and beehives; honey bottles cure Poison and refill 6 hunger, and pollinating bees accelerate every crop they pass over.
Bees leave their nest during the day, pollinate flowers, and return to deposit honey, filling the nest one level at a time up to five. A pollinated bee flying over crops speeds their growth. Break or harvest a nest without a campfire below it and every bee inside turns hostile, stinging for poison and dying shortly after. They will not sting underwater and never come out at night or in rain.
In Minecraft, Bee is classified as a neutral mob. It has 10 health points, or 5 hearts. On Normal difficulty each hit costs you 2 damage.
It is worth 3 XP.
Properties
Bee has 10 health, which is 5 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.7 blocks wide and 0.6 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Added in
- 1.15
- Breedable
- Yes
Damage by difficulty
Bee hits for 2 on Easy, 2 on Normal and 3 on Hard — the site's stat strip shows the Normal figure, which is the one most guides quote.
A full set of diamond armour cuts that by up to 80% against a small hit and less against a large one, and Protection IV on all four pieces — 16 EPF — takes a further 64% off what is left.
| Difficulty | Attack damage | Hearts |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 2 | 1 |
| Normal | 2 | 1 |
| Hard | 3 | 1.5 |
Spawns in
Generates with bee nests on trees and flowers; nests appear on roughly 5% of oak and birch trees in plains, and far more often in flower forests and meadows.
It is restricted to Plains, Sunflower Plains, Flower Forest, Meadow, Cherry Grove and 3 more, so it will never turn up outside those biomes however dark it gets.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- Any
- Biomes
- Plains, Sunflower Plains, Flower Forest, Meadow, Cherry Grove, Birch Forest, Old Growth Birch Forest, Mangrove Swamp
- Added in
- 1.15
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.15
How it behaves
The Bee ignores you until provoked, and once provoked it usually stays provoked — often for the whole group, which is what makes a single mistake expensive.
Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.
Command
In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Bee where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:bee ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you harvest honey without angering bees?
Light a campfire under the nest so its smoke reaches the block. Bees then ignore shearing and bottling entirely.
Do bees die after stinging?
Yes. A Bee that stings a player loses its stinger and dies shortly afterwards, so an angry hive depopulates itself.
What do bees do for crops?
A Bee carrying pollen speeds the growth of crops it flies over, which is a free boost for any farm built beside a hive.
Where do bee nests generate?
On oak and birch trees — roughly 5% in plains, and far more often in flower forests, meadows, cherry groves and mangrove swamps.
How much health does the Bee have in Minecraft?
The Bee has 10 health points, which is 5 hearts.
What does the Bee drop?
It drops no items, only 3 experience.
Where does the Bee spawn?
Generates with bee nests on trees and flowers; nests appear on roughly 5% of oak and birch trees in plains, and far more often in flower forests and meadows.
How much damage does Bee do?
2 on Normal difficulty — 1 hearts — with 2 on Easy and 3 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Find a bee nest on an oak or birch in a flower forest, meadow or plains — about 5% of trees in plains carry one. Silk Touch moves the nest with all 3 bees inside; without it the bees stay and the nest is destroyed.
Tips
- Put a lit campfire two blocks below the nest so the smoke reaches it — then shears and bottles never anger the colony.
- Never break a nest without Silk Touch: the bees survive, the nest does not, and the whole colony turns on you.
- Plant flowers within about 22 blocks of the hive, or the bees will wander and the honey level will barely climb.
- Wait for the nest to reach honey level 5, shown by dripping particles, before shearing it for the full 3 honeycomb.