Beehives are naturally occurring structures only found in Grassland Biomes, holding up to 6 Bees or Killer Bees. They have 200 health, and drop 1 Honeycomb and 3 Honey when destroyed. Unlike Bee Boxes, Bees have no effect on the items dropped. Beehives do not respawn, making Honeycomb a non-renewable resource.
Attacking a Beehive will anger nearby Bees, and spawn Killer Bees from the nest itself. Even though Honeycomb and Honey are not flammable, burning a Beehive will yield 4 Ashes.
Killer Bee Hive
Killer Bee Hives are naturally occurring structures found only in Grasslands biomes (usually next to Beehives) holding up to 6 Killer Bees. They appear in Sandbox Mode and more frequently in Adventure mode. Like normal Beehives, Killer Bee Hives drop 1 Honeycomb and 3 Honey. They also do not respawn.
Spawning Mechanics
Beehive
A Beehive will (re)spawn a new Bee every game hour (30 seconds) up to the maximum population of 6 Bees per hive. Bees will leave their hive during the daytime, one at a time every 50 seconds. They return to their hive at dusk. During Winter, Bees do not leave their hive.
If a Bee is attacked, all members of the hive will emerge as Killer Bees to engage the offender. Additionally, Bees from the same hive, that are less than a screen away, and any "homeless" bees (killer or otherwise) will also join the fight. Note that the total number of attacking Bees cannot exceed 10, unless another Bee is attacked.
If a Beehive is attacked, all Bees inside the hive will emerge as Killer Bees to attack the offender. Bees that were already outside (before the hive was attacked) will ignore the threat, unless the target fights back. This makes dusk the best time to attack a Beehive; it takes 8.3 game hours (250 seconds) for the last Bee to leave a hive each day, but usually dusk comes before this can happen.
As a special case if a Beehive catches Fire, all bees will swarm out as workers but stay neutral because they don't recognize the player as a threat even if it was a direct attack from a Fire Dart for example. The Hive will burn up, dropping 4 Ashes.
Killer Bee Hive
A Killer Bee Hive will (re)spawn a new Bee every 20 seconds up to the maximum population of 6 per hive. Killer Bees normally stay inside their hive all day. If the player wanders too close to their home they will immediately swarm out and attack even at Night and during Winter. Other creatures do not trigger this behavior.
If a Killer Bee is attacked, all members inside the hive will emerge to engage the target. Additionally, Bees from the same hive, that are less than a screen away, and any "homeless" bees (killer or otherwise) will also join the fight. Note that the total number of attacking Bees cannot exceed 10, unless another Bee is attacked.
If a Killer Bee Hive is attacked, all the Killer Bees in the hive will emerge and attack. Killer Bees that were already outside (before the hive was attacked) will ignore the threat, unless the target fights back.
As a special case if a Killer Bee Hive catches Fire, all bees will swarm out but stay neutral if the player keeps a distance; Killer Bees will not recognize the threat, even if it was a direct attack from a Fire Dart, for example. The hive will burn up, dropping 4 Ashes.
Tips
Beehive
- Equipping a Beekeeper Hat is a good way of avoiding major damage. If combined with a Log Suit, the damage from Bee stings is nearly negated and gathering is much easier.
- It is possible to outrun Bees as they fly slowly. Once attacking a Hive,a character can turn and run from the bees, then turn back and attack again before they catch up.
- Wendy can use Abigail to harvest Honey. Head to a beehive with a rabbit or bird in the inventory, drop the red flower and the critter, and kill the creature before it flees. Abigail will spawn and help attack and destroy the beehive once Wendy targets it. It will anger the bees, but they will attack Abigail instead.
Killer Bee Hive
- It is advised that players should stay away from Killer Bee Hives, because they are often found grouped with other hives, making it hard to escape without attracting more Killer Bees.
- Destroying a Killer Bee Hive requires good preparation. The player should have armour such as a Beekeeper Hat and Log Suit for minimizing injury. To destroy each hive quickly, one should use a Tentacle Spike or Dark Sword, though the run-of-the-mill Spear works as well.
- Ranged weapons such as a Blow Dart will help the player keep a safe distance while killing the Bees.
- A strategy is to lure away the Killer Bees and turn back in a circle. When they stop pursuing, they wait for a short while before returning to the hive, giving the player time to destroy it before the Bees catch up. After the hive is destroyed, the Bees don't act as a swarm anymore and can be killed one by one.
- A patient player may employ a Lureplant to eat the Bees. Lure them into the field of Eyeplants by going around the Eyeplants, and return to destroy the hive. This works with a lot of Killer Bee Hives close together.
- Another mildly entertaining strategy to farm Pengulls, albeit mildly dangerous, is to find a Killer Bee Hive and wait for Pengulls to spawn nearby. Once a sizable amount have made there way to a close by location, provoke the Killer Bees, then kite them over to the Pengulls, get out of range of the Bees, watch the carnage, and gain Honey, a lot of Stingers, and plenty of Drumsticks, Jet Feathers, and Eggs. Plus this can be done daily and repeatedly as the Bees will replenish in about a game days time, as well as the Pengulls.
Trivia
- Killer Bee Hives were added in the update, A Little Rain Must Fall.
- The Killer Bee Hive is called a Wasp Hive in the files, meaning that Killer Bees could be Wasps. This is made more likely by the fact that their hives resemble wasp hives.
- Killer Bee Hives found in Sandbox Mode will sometimes spawn near the Wooden Thing, as if it were some sort of defense.
- There is a Set Piece with a neat field of Grass with Killer Bee Hives among the tufts.
- In the early stages of Adventure Mode, Archipelago, there would be a killer Bee Hive right next to a certain worm hole. But this was later changed so the player could have a chance.
- Killer Bees and Bees are technically the same species, due to the way the game is coded. A Bee can emerge a Killer Bee, return to the hive and then re-emerge as a normal Bee.
- When examined by Maxwell, he says "Not the bees!", referencing a quote from the movie The Wicker Man.
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