Talk:Bee

How long do bees stay aggro?
I attempted to add a TODO to the article, but it was removed.

Could anybody with access to the decompiled "data values" add that info at some point? It would be very helpful.

Thanks, --73.26.38.97 20:24, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Behavior: "passive" when a campfire is under a bee nest?
"Neutral" mobs will attack you if you attack them.

The page says that bees are "Passive" when a campfire is under their nest.

However, I have gotten stung by bees when accidentally punching one, even when a campfire is under their nest.

A campfire only makes honey theft non-provoking; it does not make the mobs non-Neutral. Should the page be updated to reflect this?

73.26.38.97 21:14, 18 January 2021 (UTC)


 * You are correct. I have removed that from the infobox. Putting a campfire under the bee nest simply eliminates one way of provoking a bee, but a bee can still be provoked in other ways. Amatulic (talk) 21:20, 18 January 2021 (UTC)

Flower pots
Do flower pots have the same effect as flowers do for pollinating? The article does not mentions.--177.72.23.36 21:11, 27 January 2021 (UTC)


 * You'd probably have to run a test. In creative mode, find an open flower-free field in a plains biome, grow a birch or oak in it, set several flower pots with flowers around it, put a beehive on the tree trunk 1 block from the ground, hatch a couple of bee eggs, and see what happens. Amatulic (talk) 21:19, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
 * I just did this test. The bees ignore flowers in flower pots, and instead travel long distances to find flowers. If I plant flowers near the flower pots, they go for the planted flowers and ignore the flowers in the pots. I'll add something about that to the article. Amatulic (talk) 21:33, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

Pollination specifics
Is there a way to make bees spread more pollen? Specifically is there a way to make bees spread pollen more before immediately returning to their beehive?

The Pollination page makes it seem like they cycle from becoming pollinated, then spreading pollen intentionally, then return to the hive.

76.120.27.240 23:14, 15 March 2021 (UTC)


 * I'd say a good way would be to put the crops to be pollinated between the bee nest and the flowers. Last time I experimented with bees in creative mode, I found they would find flowers 20 blocks away if there were no flowers nearby (you might need to leave one flower 2 blocks from the nest though). Your crop farm could extend from the bee nest and have a bunch of flowers on the other end of it. Amatulic (talk) 06:53, 16 March 2021 (UTC)

The Transgender Bee Issue
Compared to using edit summaries, this page is a better place to discuss whether or not to have the Trivia point about bees being transgender. Also, if it does get added, then the Tweets should be linked to like this: The second Tweet might need to have a proper quote added, but otherwise, that's what should be done (as opposed to directly linking to them).

Right now, I don't have much of an opinion on whether or not the trivia point should be included. SLScool 16:47, 4 June 2021 (UTC)


 * So I've looked at some of the points made on the edit history page. The argument about "whether or not a real life bee can be trans" is irrelevant to bees inside the game, and personal opinions on the subject should be avoided. This discussion is about whether or not the trivia point should be added to the wiki or not.
 * The argument for adding it is that since the comment was made by a developer currently working on the game, that makes it viable to be added, just like with any other comment. One of the arguments against adding it is that the comment "was a joke", but this didn't stop other potentially jokey comments (for example, "Jean?") being added as trivia. Another argument against adding it is that this comment contradict previous comments made by other developers in the past ("the mobs are genderless"), but new comments don't necessarily need to be consistent with older comments, especially within the fiction of the game. The only somewhat good point I can see against adding this is that any comment from the developers could be added just for the sake of it, but I don't see that happening since most comments aren't so specific.
 * Since I can't think of any other good point on the negative side, I think this trivia point should be added to trivia. Cat201 (talk) 18:01, 4 June 2021 (UTC)


 * I feel like the last edit before it was removed sumarized it perfectly, mentioning how it was in relation to the bee being a trans icon in many communities, and not mentioning anything about notch. MaxHyper0310 (talk) 18:21, 4 June 2021 (UTC)


 * Hmn, I quite frankly don't have a lot to add, y'all summed it up quite well. But yeah, there's a bunch of things supporting it as a trivia bit, and not really anything against it. --0Steven (talk) 18:29, 4 June 2021 (UTC)


 * If a dev tweeted a factoid, it should count as trivia regardless of how people feel about it Kinomora (talk) 19:12, 4 June 2021 (UTC)


 * For the longest of times I've known Minecraft as having no concept of gender for mobs. Every mob which can be bred can act like a mother and father; this is no different with bees. Code-wise (very simplified, that is), a bee extends the mob class. Cows, horses, axolotls, etc., all breedable - they all extend that very same class. So if we do wish to include this transgender statement, it actually goes for every mob in the game. Not to mention that the tweet should be read in context, which I've written down:
 * (1627 CEST June 4)
 * (1640 CEST June 4)
 * (in response to the question of what pronouns bees would have) (1706 CEST June 4)
 * (not in same thread) (1708 CEST June 4)
 * (1718 CEST June 4)
 * (1836 CEST June 4)
 * As I illustrated above, that very tweet about bees being transgender has been woefully pulled out of its context. Therefore I to inclusion of that trivia because of that, not to mention because Minecraft by its very nature has no concept of gender. DarkShadowTNT (talk) 18:31, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Mobs in game not having gender is unrelated to if this can be trivia, how about the Ender Dragon being referred to as she? The remark is just a comment about the bee being a symbol for trans rights, enforced by the reply by Jappa about pride month. MaxHyper0310 (talk) 18:37, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * That's because the Ender dragon is a bit of an exception among the rules, as after death it leaves an egg. With 'Enderman' - I believe '-man' is used here in the sense of nationality (coming from the End), such as Dutchman (coming from the Netherlands), Scotsman (coming from Scotland) and Yorkshireman (coming from Yorkshire) do without actually implying the mob's specific gender. DarkShadowTNT (talk) 18:53, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Okay so you're saying there's exceptions, so why is this an issue? Plus dont chickens lay eggs too? MaxHyper0310 (talk) 18:57, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Chickens can be bred like any other breedable mob, irrespective of both being capable of lying an egg and neither having a rooster texture. As to why this is an issue, it's because bees are like any other breedable mob, with either of two capable of spawning a baby bee. Whether or not a bee is a symbol for a particular community and whether or not something about a bee's nature has been said by one of Mojang's employees in context and what also appears to be in joking fashion is not worthy for trivia. DarkShadowTNT (talk) 19:09, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * So many trivia pieces on the wiki are just a joke a dev made MaxHyper0310 (talk) 19:11, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * A good example of this is in the trivia section on the page about chickens. --0Steven (talk) 19:14, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * In addition to that, the ender dragon page has a trivia bit solely for something Notch joked about. So I really don't think your argument about jokes here holds water given what's already been on the wiki for quite some time. --0Steven (talk) 19:19, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Even so, as Minecraft otherwise inherently has no gender for breedable mobs, I do not believe it should be included in the trivia bit for this page. I can give you that you could think of it as hermaphrodite, but that's the furthest I'll go (and also, wouldn't Jappa's statement he made later about thinking of Minecraft's mobs (including the bee) as hermaphrodites immediately replace the transgender bee statement anyway, if we're going by 'a later statement can replace an earlier one'?). DarkShadowTNT (talk) 19:35, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * For one, gender and biological s­ex are not the same thing, and thus those statements can both hold true at once. Either way, you're still arguing besides the point. It's for the trivia section, not any of the main sections, and both joking and even nigh unrelated posts have been included there before. And as said before, this also holds importance in internet culture and trans communities. Combine each of those, and there's no reason to not include it as a trivia bit. --0Steven (talk) 20:47, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Trivia should not exist in the first place, at this point, it is a dumping ground for useless info. Humiebeetalk contribs 13:40, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * There's nothing to support this. It's just a joke/reference to a tweet made in the past by a non-dev to support trans rights. This was done on pride month as a way to be inclusive and help support trans-rights and inclusivity, but it is not by any means a canonical addition to the game itself as unnamed, base mobs do not have a gender and therefor cannot be trans. I personally don't believe an artist has the main say in whether or not something is or isn't "such-and-such," but they definitely can suggest it. All in all, this is not serious, so it is not something to be added to any part of the wiki. --Urcringebucko (talk) 20:29, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * 'So many trivia pieces on the wiki are just a joke a dev made' - MaxHyper0310
 * Irrelevant as actual canon opposes the joke.--Urcringebucko (talk) 20:35, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Canon routinely is overridden by new additions, as was the case with zombified piglins in the Nether Update. The fact that something as been canon in the past does not mean that it should remain or that it is superior to more recent canon.  In fact, more recent canon is often superior as it is associated with better gameplay, again as was the case in the Nether Update. – Unsigned comment added by 69.151.207.13 (talk) at 20:45, 4 June 2021 (UTC). Sign comments with
 * Irrelevant. Base mobs = ungendered entities. A joke tweet in reference to a tweet made a while ago, but now to show support in pride month is no more canon just because it came from the mind of a dev. This was not part of an update, but rather is a tweet made to show support. In contrast of the initial tweet made, Jappa was cited saying that mobs are hermaphrodites instead, which is much more of a natural term for creatures that are able to switch in order to fit a role and help to propagate the species. Therefor a bee cannot be trans, but rather a hermaphrodite. In summation, it is all code that we're trying to apply characteristics to which they don't have to begin with, and I vote all and to drop this as it doesn't belong in "trivia" unless we were to include an unbiased take from both for and against the addition.--Urcringebucko (talk) 22:46, 4 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Irrelevant. Base mobs = ungendered entities. A joke tweet in reference to a tweet made a while ago, but now to show support in pride month is no more canon just because it came from the mind of a dev. This was not part of an update, but rather is a tweet made to show support. In contrast of the initial tweet made, Jappa was cited saying that mobs are hermaphrodites instead, which is much more of a natural term for creatures that are able to switch in order to fit a role and help to propagate the species. Therefor a bee cannot be trans, but rather a hermaphrodite. In summation, it is all code that we're trying to apply characteristics to which they don't have to begin with, and I vote all and to drop this as it doesn't belong in "trivia" unless we were to include an unbiased take from both for and against the addition.--Urcringebucko (talk) 22:46, 4 June 2021 (UTC)


 * As stated by another dev at Mojang, kingbdogz on Reddit, the only official/canon sources are what's said at official Mojang events. Gustoboy (talk) 08:03, 5 June 2021 (UTC)


 * From what I see, there are several arguments on both sides.
 * From, the main arguments are:
 * From, the main arguments are:


 * 1) Bee is a symbol of trans
 * 2) It fits in trivia
 * 3) If the ender dragon is referred to a she, why not the bee?
 * 4) If this is something a dev joked about, why is the ender dragon a she? (Joked by Notch)
 * From, the main arguments are:


 * 1) Bees are bees, there is nothing different about them, they are another breedable mob just like a cow or a pig.
 * 2) It is just a reference to support trans rights and support LGBTQ+
 * 3) That was not a serious tweet from JAPPA, just to support the trans rights.
 * 4) JAPPA's statement about hermaphrodites overrides the trans tweet (was posted later)
 * Basically, support because of consistancy and makes sense for trivia, oppose because a bee is a bee, nothing special about them, JAPPA's tweet about hermaphrodites overriddes the original tweet. I think that it should NOT be referred to as trans in general but would fit into trivia (hence the ) Humiebeetalk contribs 21:45, 4 June 2021 (UTC)


 * because why the f*** should anyone care if bees in Minecraft are transgender? It's irrelevant, it isn't confirmed, it isn't even a part of the game, and it does NOT fit in trivia because trivia shouldn't be a dumping ground for indiscriminate conjecture. ALL breedable mobs in Minecraft are hermaphroditic. The coincidence that trans folks might have a bee symbol is irrelevant to Minecraft. Amatulic (talk) 05:34, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * So many trivia pieces are little facts or jokes that nobody really has to "care about" or are irrelevant to the actual gameplay, like the Ender Dragon's gender for example, but should still be included because it is trivia. If we don't include that the Minecraft bee is trans because of these reasons we might as well throw away the whole trivia section since most of it is just as "irrelevant". PlatinMoralle (talk) 12:07, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Why does trivia even exist? This wiki has always strayed towards being a place to get information, not some weird facts about what the item should, can, can't, should not, first, last, etc. JAPPA said  ONE  tweet about bees. Also, the ender dragon should not be called a she, no exceptions. You can't hatch the egg, it was only said in discord and reddit, never in minecraft.net or mojang.com. Never in youtube either (as far as I know). Humiebeetalk contribs 13:40, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Please do not make your text larger for no reason, it's unprofessional and unnecessary. The wiki can be seen as a collection of all information regarding Minecraft, and the trivia section is a good place for anything that might not fit into the main sections of the page. Small fun facts, jokes/comments from the devs, etc. PlatinMoralle (talk) 14:30, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Wrong. We have the guideline MCW:TRIVIA that restricts what can be included. There are millions of "small fun facts" that are totally irrelevant, and this is one of them. Trivia sections aren't intended to be indiscriminate lists of random crap. Just because something may be true doesn't mean it should be included. Just because a dev tweeted something as a joke or passing mention doesn't mean it should be included. Amatulic (talk) 14:38, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * The fact that Jappa has tweeted that the Minecraft bee is trans fits all of the trivia guidelines PlatinMoralle (talk) 14:43, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * No, it doesn't fit a single one of the criteria. It's speculation, which is obvious when looking at the full context around the tweet, contradicts/retracts the original tweet, as DarkShadow documented above. So it isn't even a verifiable fact given Jappa's own tweets that follow. There is no verification that it had anything to do with development of the feature. It isn't even anything unique or special; the gender of bees is no different than the gender of anything else in Minecraft. Devs tweet stuff all the time, and the purpose of this wiki isn't to function as a directory of developer tweets. Amatulic (talk) 14:56, 5 June 2021 (UTC)
 * per Amatulic. BDJP (t 19:01, 8 June 2021 (UTC)

Bee distance
In the Behavior section, it says "Bees usually venture up to 22 blocks from their beehive to find something they can pollinate or to attack someone. Bees can venture further away if necessary."

Does anybody know where the 22 block piece of information came from? I built my tower 35 blocks tall, and bees routinely fly above it. The reason this is important is due to https://bugs.mojang.com/browse/MC-187920, where bees lose their ability to navigate back to their nest. My speculation is that they can lose their navigation information to get back to their hive after they fly too high.

Also, would the 22 block limit (which may not be a hard limit) be spherical distance, taxicab distance, or some other kind of measurement?

Thank you! SirDaddicus (talk) 17:03, 11 August 2021 (UTC)


 * It's likely Euclidean distance (spherical distance). Other detection-range features are Euclidean (villager beds and job sites, structures found with /locate command, hostile mob aggravation range, skeleton trap horse triggering, passive mob attraction to food in the hand, creeper-cat avoidance distance, and so on). There's no reason why bees should be any different.


 * Without diving into the code, the empirical way to test it would be to spawn a bee near an empty nest in Creative, then lure the bee away from the nest with a flower. Move away from the nest more than 22 blocks and switch from the flower to some other item. See if the bee returns to the nest (or maybe /time set midnight to see if the night overrides the bee's desire for the flower in your hand). It may return to the nest by randomly flying around and then at some point being close enough to detect the nest. Or it may wander farther away.


 * I had this problem with a villager once. I was moving the beds in the village to a central location. One of the villagers was far enough from the new bed location that he couldn't detect his bed after I moved it, so he started wandering into the adjacent desert. I had to physically nudge him back into the village until he detected a bed, and then he took off running because it was night time. The experience was sort of an ordeal and made me wish I could use a lead on a villager or have something to make it follow me. Amatulic (talk) 02:15, 12 August 2021 (UTC)

Suggested change?
The part that says "A bee does not fly through an open trap door or regular door on its own" I am finding to be untrue in Java 1.17.1, I have bees flying through open doorways of their own volition. I would suggest one of the editors amends this. Thank you, Sid XSepticSidx (talk) 23:02, 18 January 2022 (UTC)


 * Please re-test using the latest version, in this case being Java 1.18.1. BDJP (t 22:54, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Bees vs. sweetberries
I have a lot of sweetberries around my base and I also keep some bees. They used to frequently get stuck in the bushes and I had to destroy a bush the release them and then replant the bush. I haven't seen this happen in a few weeks. Maybe this is something that has been updated in their a.i.? Or is this just luck? GMRE (talk) 18:55, 25 January 2023 (UTC)