Copper blocks are one of the most distinct yet underused building blocks in Minecraft. And that’s primarily due to copper changing color because of oxidation, much like the real world. But what if you could prevent that from happening? Yeah, you can coat the copper blocks with a protective layer, which comes in the form of honeycomb in Minecraft. To do that, you first need to learn how to get honeycomb in Minecraft, and then you can not only wax your copper but also make a bunch of other amazing items. With that said, let’s dive in!
Our guide goes over the uses, mechanics, and methods of collecting honeycomb in separate sections. Use the table below to easily explore each of those.
What is Honeycomb in Minecraft
A honeycomb is a useful item in Minecraft that is created by the bees in Minecraft. In itself, the item is basic and not resourceful. But when combined with other items, honeycomb can unlock a variety of crafting recipes and even change the state of some blocks. Though, more on that later. For now, let’s figure out how to get the honeycomb in Minecraft.
You need the following items to obtain a honeycomb in Minecraft:
Much like in the real world, the bees are responsible for collecting honey in Minecraft. They store honey inside the bee nests or beehives, whichever is closer to them. Once the beehive or bee nest is completely filled, the player can come up and use a shear to get honey in the form of honeycombs. Meanwhile, we need to place a Minecraft campfire under the nest, as it ensures that the bees won’t attack the player collecting the honeycomb.
How to Make Shear
To make shear, you need to place two iron ingots diagonally next to each other on the crafting table in Minecraft. They can be placed in any two rows, and moreover, the diagonal could be facing either upwards or downwards. When it’s ready, the shear is a useful tool to terraform and break a variety of natural items, including vines, honeycombs, cobwebs, and more.
Since beehives require honeycomb for crafting, we are focusing only on bee nests in this tutorial. They are naturally generating blocks that act as houses for bees in Minecraft. Each bee nest can contain three bees at the same time, all of which become hostile if you attack the bee nest. The bees nest block spawns in the following Minecraft biomes:
Among these, only the meadow biome has a 100% spawn rate of bees. So if you wish to go bee hunting, we suggest you look for the meadow biome in your world. Meanwhile, if you want to pick up the bee nest, you need to use the silk touch enchantment with any of your tools. However, you can get honeycomb without moving the bee nest from its spawn location as well.
Follow the steps below to learn how to get honeycomb in Minecraft:
Then, place a campfire beneath the bee nest. It will create smoke that prevents bees from turning hostile and attacking you.
Finally, use the shear on the bee nest by right-clicking or using the secondary action key. The bee nest will remain unharmed, and it will drop honeycomb. Collect the honeycomb, and there you go!
Best Uses of Honeycomb in Minecraft
You can use honeycomb in Minecraft to craft a beehive, a candle, and a honeycomb block. But most players use it to create waxed variants of copper blocks. These include:
To wax any block from the copper family, you need to place it next to a honeycomb in the crafting table. There is no crafting arrangement or recipe. Moreover, you can even use this crafting recipe in your player inventory, as it is a 2-ingredient recipe.
How to Make a Bee Farm in Minecraft
As you might expect, collecting one piece of honeycomb is not enough if you are planning to wax a bunch of copper blocks or create a few craftable items. That’s why it is best to make a bee farm in Minecraft. It is one of the easiest farms to build in the game, and you won’t have to worry about collecting honeycomb ever again once it’s active.
Find and Use Honeycomb in Minecraft
You can use either fire or campfire to prevent bees from turning hostile. We suggest sticking with a campfire, as it won’t run out.
If the bees’ original home isn’t near, your beehive can attract them. It has an even higher chance of success at night when the bees naturally look for shelter. Moreover, you can use any flower in Minecraft to attack the bees.
You can remove wax from copper blocks by using an axe on it. It will revert the block to its original state.
By waxing a copper block in Minecraft, you prevent its oxidation and ensure that the color of that copper block isn’t going to change after some time.
