How to Get a Bee Nest in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Find a bee nest on a tree and break it with a Silk Touch tool to collect it intact. Meadows are a useful starting point because their naturally generated trees have a 100% nest chance. You can also grow oak, birch or cherry saplings near flowers for a 5% chance per tree.

What you need

A tool with Silk Touch to collect the nest
Oak, birch or cherry saplings and flowers for the renewable route
Bone meal (optional, to grow trees faster)
Campfire plus shears or glass bottles for harvesting

Step by step

Look for trees in a meadow. Each naturally generated tree there has a bee nest, but meadows can have few trees; plains, sunflower plains and cherry groves are alternatives.
Bring a tool enchanted with Silk Touch before breaking the nest. Without it the nest drops nothing and bees can become angry.
If you want to move the bees too, wait until they have returned inside, then collect the nest with Silk Touch. Bees already inside stay in the dropped nest.
To generate nests at home, plant oak, birch or cherry saplings with a flower within two blocks, including diagonally, on the same Y level.
Grow the sapling, naturally or with bone meal, and check the tree. Each qualifying tree has a 5% chance to generate a nest containing two or three bees; repeat with more saplings if it fails.
After placing the nest, leave its entrance accessible and provide flowers. Harvest a full nest with shears for three honeycombs or a glass bottle for honey; use unobstructed campfire smoke below it to avoid angering the bees.

Java vs Bedrock

The flower-and-sapling method works in both editions. Natural flower forest trees have a 2% nest chance in Java and 3% in Bedrock. A carpet above a campfire still lets its smoke calm bees in Java, but blocks that calming effect in Bedrock. Campfire smoke is for harvesting; use Silk Touch to move the nest.

Versions: javabedrock

Frequently asked questions

Can I craft a bee nest?

No. Bee nests come from trees, including newly grown trees under the right conditions. Beehives are the craftable alternative, made with planks and honeycombs.

Does Silk Touch keep the bees inside?

Yes, any bees inside the nest remain inside the dropped block. Bees outside are not collected with it. Wait until they are home if you want to move the whole colony.

Why did my sapling not make a bee nest?

For oak, birch and cherry, the flower must be within two blocks on the same Y level. Even with the right setup, the chance is only 5% per tree, so most attempts will not create a nest.

Can a mangrove tree generate a bee nest?

Yes. A mangrove grown from a propagule has a 1% chance to generate a nest with two or three bees, without needing a flower nearby.