How to Get Honey From a Beehive in Minecraft

All about bees, honey, and honeycombs

Bees and honey were introduced to Minecraft in the version 1.5 update. This article covers how to get honey in Minecraft on any platform, how to craft beehives, and how to collect honeycombs.

How to Collect Honey From a Beehive in Minecraft

Follow these steps to bottle honey from a beehive or bee nest:

  1. Make a Crafting Table using four wood planks. Any wood (Oak Planks, Crimson Planks, etc.) will do.

    Make a Crafting Table using four wood planks.
  2. Place the Crafting Table on the ground and open it to bring up the 3X3 crafting grid.

    A Crafting Table in Minecraft
  3. Craft a Campfire. You'll need the following materials:

    • 3 Sticks
    • 1 Coal or Charcoal
    • 3 Logs or Wood

    Arrange the items in the 3X3 crafting grid as depicted in the image below.

    Craft a Campfire in Minecraft.
  4. Locate a beehive or bee nest.

    Locate a beehive or bee nest.
  5. Place the campfire below the hive.

    Place the campfire near the hive.
  6. Wait until the hive is full of honey. You can tell when golden pixels appear on one side of the block. Check all sides of the hive.

    Golden pixels of honey on a beehive in Minecraft
  7. Use an empty Glass Bottle on the beehive. How you use a bottle depends on the platform you're playing on:

    • PC: Right-click and hold
    • Mobile: Tap and hold the screen
    • Xbox: Press and hold LT
    • PlayStation: Press and hold L2
    • Nintendo: Press and hold ZL
    Use an empty Glass Bottle on the beehive.

    Use Shears on a full bee nest to get a Honeycomb instead.

How to Find Bees in Minecraft

Bees can spawn naturally in:

  • Plains
  • Sunflower plains
  • Flower forest
  • Forest
  • Wooded hills
  • Birch forest
  • Tall birch forest
  • Birch forest hills
  • Tall birch hills

Bees congregate around bee nests and beehives. If you spot a bee in the wild, watch it from a distance and follow it home. If you're playing in Creative mode, you can spawn bees with a Bee Spawn Egg. Bees will not appear at night or in the rain.

If you hold a flower in your hand, bees will follow you wherever you go. Use this trick to lure bees back to your garden.

The Benefits of Bees in Minecraft

Bees carry pollen from flowers to hives to make honey. They also create new flowers as they spread pollen, so a beehive can be very helpful if you're trying to make a garden.

If you attack a bee, hive, or nest, prepare to get stung by nearby bees. Bees die after stinging once and don't leave behind any spoils, but the sting will inflict the poison effect. To avoid getting stung, place a campfire near the hive before approaching it to keep the bees calm.

What Can You Do With Honey and Honeycombs?

Honey and honeycombs have a few uses:

  • Drink honey to restore three units of hunger and remove poison effects.
  • Use honeycombs to craft beehives.
  • Place one bottle of honey in the crafting grid to make sugar.
  • Place four bottles of honey in the crafting grid to make a block of honey. Honey blocks will slow down anyone or anything that touches them.

You can set up dispensers to automate the honey collection and bottling process.

What You Need to Make a Beehive

The only difference between a beehive and a bee nest is that you can craft the latter. Place three wood planks (any wood is fine) in the top row and bottom row of the 3X3 crafting grid, then place three honeycombs in the middle row.

How to craft a beehive in Minecraft.

How to Move a Beehive in Minecraft

Follow these steps to safely transport beehives with the bees inside included:

  1. Use an anvil and place a Pickaxe in the first box.

    Use an anvil and place a Pickaxe in the first box.
  2. Place a Silk Touch enchantment in the second box.

    Place a Silk Touch enchantment in the second box.
  3. Move the enchanted Pickaxe to your inventory.

    Move the enchanted pickaxe to your inventory.
  4. Place a Campfire close to the beehive.

    Place a Campfire close to the beehive.
  5. Use the enchanted Pickaxe on the beehive.

    Use the enchanted Pickaxe on the beehive.
  6. Collect the Beehive block. Now you can add it to your hot bar and place it in your garden or wherever you want.

    Collect the Beehive block.
FAQ
  • How do I plant a garden in Minecraft?

    To plant seeds in Minecraft, equip a Hoe and use it on the ground to till the soil, then equip your seeds and use them on the tilled soil to plant them. Plant crops near water to make them grow faster.

  • Why are my bees not making honey in Minecraft?

    A bug in previous versions can prevent bees from making honey, so install the latest Minecraft updates. Also, bees can't enter the hive to make honey if there are any blocks (including flowers) directly next to the hive, so make sure the bees aren't blocked.

  • Why did my bees disappear in Minecraft?

    If there's a Nether Portal nearby, bees can disappear into the Nether if they accidentally fly into it.

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