Hats off to Minecraft! This super popular game has just released update 1.15 and they have added bees, honey, and beehives. This is a magnificent way for millions of players around the world to encounter bees and understand how they live.
If you play Minecraft, or have kids, students or grandchildren who play, you'll see them learn about bees while playing one of their favorite games... it will help people to understand how important bees are to us all.
The bees can be found in the Flower Forest, Sunflower Plains or Plains biomes, where it is warm and sunny. You wouldn't find bees in the Tundra, where it is so cold that they would die.
This 10:08 minute long Youtube video by CaptainSparklez has received nearly 1.5 million views in just a few days and is well worth watching. He does a splendid job showing how the Minecraft bees feature works. Even if you aren’t a player, it'll do your heart good as a Bee Lover to see the care Minecraft has taken to present bees in a realistic way.
Just like in real life, Minecraft bees pollinate flowers and bring pollen back to the hive. The bees are what is referred to as a "neutral mob" meaning bees won't attack you unless you attack a bee. If a bee stings you, it will die.
You can make honey drip out of the nest, as they call the beehive, and you can drink it. Honeycomb is a crafting item used in recipes. Players can mate the Queen Bee with a drone to make baby bees during a mating flight. You can even smoke bees to help them chill out. You can also plant the flowers your bees love to pollinate.
There is a way to build your own beehives and become a beekeeper with your very own bee colonies. This is a fine and fun Beekeeping 101 opportunity for young people who may want to check out real beekeeping later in life.
People absorb knowledge easily when they are having fun, unstressed, and unaware that they are even learning. Many will fall in love with these fuzzy little buzzing insects as a new part of the game they love to play.
These are just a few key insights; I’m sure there is much more to explore about the bees of Minecraft.
How cool is that!? If you are a Minecraft player or have any players in your home, please go over to our Facebook page and tell us how you like the BEES of Minecraft.