How to Make a Beehive in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Craft a beehive with 6 planks of any wood (top and bottom rows) around 3 honeycombs in the middle row. Honeycomb comes from shearing a full wild bee nest - put a campfire under the nest first so the bees stay calm.

What you need

6 planks (any wood)
3 honeycombs
Shears
Campfire (to harvest safely)
Flowers (to lure and breed bees)
Silk Touch tool (optional, to move the hive)

Step by step

Find a wild bee nest hanging from an oak, birch, cherry or mangrove tree - plains, sunflower plains, flower forests, cherry groves and mangrove swamps are the reliable spots.
Wait until the nest drips honey (honey level 5), then place a lit campfire directly under it. The smoke keeps the bees calm while you harvest.
Use shears on the full nest to get 3 honeycombs. Without the campfire, every nearby bee turns hostile.
Craft the beehive: 3 planks across the top, 3 honeycombs across the middle, 3 planks across the bottom. Any plank type works and they can be mixed.
Place the beehive near flowers and lure bees to it by holding a flower, or breed two bees with flowers. Each beehive houses up to 3 bees.
Harvest your hive the same way: campfire below, shears for honeycombs or glass bottles for honey. To relocate the hive with its bees inside, break it with a Silk Touch tool.

Java vs Bedrock

Identical recipe and behavior in Java and Bedrock: 6 planks + 3 honeycombs, up to 3 bees per hive, and honey level 5 before harvest. In both editions a campfire under the hive prevents bees from attacking when you collect.

Versions: Beehives arrived with the Buzzy Bees update: Java 1.15 (19w34a) and Bedrock 1.14.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a bee nest and a beehive?

Functionally nothing: both house up to 3 bees and fill with honey. Nests generate naturally on trees, while beehives are the crafted version you can place anywhere - handy for building an apiary next to your crops.

Why did the bees attack me when I harvested?

You skipped the campfire. Smoke from a campfire placed under the nest or hive calms the colony; without it, shearing or bottling honey angers every nearby bee. A stinging bee loses its stinger and dies, so it costs you bees too.

How do I move a beehive without losing the bees?

Break it with any tool enchanted with Silk Touch. The bees inside stay inside the dropped block, and nearby bees do not get angry. Without Silk Touch the bees pour out and attack.