To get honeycomb in Minecraft, use Shears on a full Bee Nest or Beehive that is dripping honey. Place a lit Campfire underneath before harvesting so its smoke calms the bees.
The short version
- Use shears on a full nest or hive to harvest honeycomb.
- Look for dripping honey before you harvest.
- Put a lit campfire below the block for a calm harvest.
- Build a beehive with your first honeycomb for repeat harvests.
- Use a dispenser, Creative inventory, or commands when those suit your world.
| Method | What it does | Time | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural bee nest | Provides your first honeycomb | Under a minute once full | You are starting in Survival |
| Crafted beehive | Supports repeat harvests | A few minutes to build | You already have honeycomb |
| Dispenser | Shears a full nest or hive | A few minutes to set up | You want redstone harvesting |
| Creative inventory | Provides honeycomb without harvesting | Under a minute | You are building in Creative |
| Chat command | Gives honeycomb to your player | Under a minute once enabled | Your world allows commands |
| Admin command | Gives honeycomb through chat or command blocks | Under a minute in chat; a few minutes for blocks | You manage a shared world |
Harvest a natural bee nest
Make Shears by placing two Iron Ingots diagonally in a crafting grid. Look for bee nests in trees in plains, sunflower plains, oak and birch forests, flower forests, meadows, mangrove swamps and cherry groves.
A bee returns home at dusk or when it rains, which can help you locate its nest. Once you find it, leave the nest intact and inspect it for dripping honey.
A full nest has honey level 5, the maximum level. If it is not dripping yet, wait for the bees to gather pollen and return home instead of trying to harvest early.
Place a lit Campfire under the nest with its smoke rising into the block. Hold your shears and use them on the full nest to harvest honeycomb, then pick up the drops.
Build a beehive for repeat harvests
Your first honeycomb lets you craft a Beehive, so start with a natural nest before building your own. At a Crafting Table, put three honeycomb across the middle row and fill the top and bottom rows with wood planks, six planks altogether.
Place the hive near bees and flowers, and leave its front clear so bees can leave. Leading bees over does not change the nest they already call home.
Bees follow a player holding a flower, so lead two bees beside the hive and give each a flower to breed them. Bees without a home look for an available nest or hive, giving the new bee a nearby home to choose.
You can also move a whole nest with its bees inside using a Silk Touch tool, ideally at night when the bees are home. Place the occupied nest near your flowers to bring a working colony to your setup.
Watch for bees visiting flowers and returning home with pollen. Their completed visits increase the honey level, so placing a hive alone does not make it ready to harvest.
When the hive is dripping honey, use shears to harvest it just as you would a natural nest. Keep a lit campfire below the hive for manual harvests, then let the bees work toward the next full hive.
Harvest with a dispenser
A Dispenser can do the shearing for you, but collecting the dropped items is a separate job. Begin with a nest or hive that is already full so you can check the harvesting part before adding collection.
Place the dispenser facing directly into the nest or hive. Open it, put Shears inside, then trigger it with a redstone signal, such as a connected lever.
If you extend the redstone line, add a Redstone Repeater along the dust to continue the signal toward the dispenser. Follow the steps to make a redstone repeater if you need that component for the longer connection.
Pick up the honeycomb, or position a Hopper where the dropped items land. If you need the collection block, follow the steps to make a hopper in Minecraft before arranging it beneath the drops.
By default, a hopper collects items that fall onto it from above. Keep the collection hopper out of the redstone signal, because powering it stops it from collecting or moving items.
Get honeycomb from Creative inventory
For a building world, select Creative when creating the world, or use /gamemode creative if commands are allowed. Creative gives you access to items without gathering their ingredients or waiting for bees. In Bedrock Edition, a Creative world or a world with cheats turned on permanently stops earning achievements.
Open your Inventory, use its search field or search tab, and type honeycomb. Select the honeycomb item and move it into an empty hotbar or inventory slot.
Check the item name before taking it so you do not choose Honeycomb Block instead. The loose honeycomb item is what you need for the beehive recipe, while the block is a separate crafted item.
Use a honeycomb command
In Java Edition, turn on Allow Commands when you create the world. For an existing world in Java 26.3, open the pause menu, choose World Options, and turn on Allow Commands under General.
In Java 26.2, open World Options from the pause menu and use Allow Commands, which is unavailable in Hardcore worlds. This controls your own command access, separately from the options for players joining through LAN.
For older Java versions without that control, choose Open to LAN from the pause menu. Enable Allow Cheats or Allow Commands, depending on the version's label, then choose Start LAN World.
In Bedrock Edition, open Settings > Game and turn on Allow Cheats. This permanently disables achievements in that world, even if you turn cheats off afterward.
Open Chat and enter /give @s minecraft:honeycomb 1 in Java Edition. In Bedrock Edition, enter /give @s honeycomb 1; the final 1 requests one item.
Keep the slash at the beginning when entering a command in chat. If you need help enabling access or reading the command suggestions, use Minecraft's command instructions before trying again.
Give honeycomb as a server administrator
On a server or Realm, use an account with permission to run commands, or ask the owner to give you the item. Single-player cheat settings do not grant you permission on someone else's server. You can also execute commands through the Server Console.
To give honeycomb to another player, replace the target with their player name, such as /give Alex minecraft:honeycomb 1. Use that player's exact name in place of Alex and run the command with your authorized account.
Use a Bedrock command block
For a Bedrock command block, enable cheats, ensure you have Operator Commands permission, and switch to Creative so you can edit the block. Enter /give @p command_block in chat, place the block, and open it.
Set Command Input to /give @p honeycomb 1, choose Impulse and Needs Redstone, then activate the block with redstone power. This targets the nearest player; Minecraft's command block instructions explain the controls if you need help configuring them.
Fix honeycomb that is not dropping
Check the block before changing your setup: it must be full and dripping honey. Then check your held item, because a Glass Bottle collects a honey bottle, while shears harvest honeycomb.
If a crafted hive stays empty, breed two bees beside it with flowers instead of only leading existing bees over. Watch for bees using it and make sure they have flowers nearby.
Bees visit flowers and return home to make honey during the day when it is not raining. Check the hive again in suitable weather and wait for it to start dripping before harvesting.
For a dispenser setup, check its direction, its shears, and whether it receives a redstone signal. If honeycomb drops but your hopper leaves it on the ground, move the hopper under the landing spot and check that redstone power is not disabling collection.
What Silk Touch does to a bee nest
Silk Touch is useful when you want to move a bee nest with the bees stored inside it. That is a different task from harvesting honeycomb, which uses shears on a full nest or hive.
Breaking a bee nest without Silk Touch destroys it and angers the bees, so you lose both the nest and the honeycomb you could have harvested. Move a nest at night, when the bees are inside.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get honeycomb without bees in Survival?
No. In Survival, honeycomb comes from shearing a nest or hive that bees have filled with honey. A hive you place yourself still needs bees bringing pollen home before you can shear it.
Do bottles give honeycomb in Minecraft?
No, using a glass bottle on a full nest or hive gives you a honey bottle. Use shears on the full block when you want honeycomb.
Can a dispenser collect honeycomb automatically?
A powered dispenser containing shears can harvest honeycomb from a full nest or hive. Add a hopper where the drops land if you also want automatic item collection.
Does this work in both Java and Bedrock?
Yes, both editions support shearing a full bee nest or beehive for honeycomb. Their command permission menus differ, so follow the steps for your edition when using commands.
Will turning cheats off restore Bedrock achievements?
No, enabling cheats permanently disables achievements in that world. Use the Survival harvesting method if you want to keep earning them.