The bug
Bees can fly in water the same way as on land. You can check this way: Take an egg from the bee's spawn, and put it on in the depths of a river, lake, sea or ocean.
Also, when they crawl out of the water, they do not primarily take off, but float on the water.
Good demo videos can be found in MC-178126.
Linked issues
is duplicated by 6
MC-162802
Bees don't necessarily avoid water while following a flower
Resolved
MC-168361
Bees are entering in the water, killing them selves
Resolved
MC-170414
Player can lead bees to drown in water
Resolved
MC-175615
Bees commit suicide by water
Resolved
MC-178126
Bees frequently kill themselves in water
Resolved
MC-178556
Bees dying
Resolved
relates to 3
Attachments
Comments 15
Is this still an issue in 19w37a?
I was testing out the bees because I haven't had the chance the past few weeks and I fly over to a beach to get some clear room. I place a few bees, just to watch their flight behavior (Note: I haven't placed any flowers yet.) and I watch three of them just fly straight into the water. I noticed they flew to the Kelp. I'm not sure if they were attracted to the Kelp or not.
Notes: I didn't place any flowers down. Version 19w41a. After they fly in, they seem to sit there for a second and fly about out.
If you need more information, don't be afraid to ask.
1.15.1 I have a base beside an ocean and I have been trying to breed up my bees, I could not figure out why the numbers where not increasing..
While most of the time they fly above the water I have observed MANY of them bobbing into the water and killing themselves in the ocean.
There is a lot of kelp just under the surface, not sure if that is relevant but noting it from the past comments.
I've been suffering with this one in 1.15.1. I've had to resort to using flowers to lure the bees out of the ocean, it's awfully tedious and generally makes my experience with bees a lot less fun
1.15.2 - found a bees nest on an island and the 2 bees just flew out over the ocean and disappeared. I looked everywhere for them, but I assume they must have drowned. I took the nest and was able to breed 2 more bees at another location, get them in the nest and took it with me to a different location (Savannah area). There, I had a huge flower field I planted and one of the bees just flew out over the ocean 100+ blocks away. I was able to finally lure it back with a flower.
I am having the same issue as Rich Harris, the bees on my island keep flying out over the ocean and dying. It's challenging to breed up their numbers since they don't avoid the water.
Can't confirm them flying around underwater in 20w11a, they just spin around flapping their wings until they reach the surface. I CAN confirm though that once near the surface of the water they'll frequently bob in and occasionally take damage, so they do indeed still don't avoid water. I don't think it's related to kelp because they seemed to act the same with or without it
Only part of this bug is fixed- them flying around underwater. They still don't "avoid" water while flying regularly and often end up taking damage. In 20w12a
Confirmed for 20w15a.
My bees are completely suicidal. In my survival world, I have lost about 20 bees I collect for my island base. Once I realized what was happening, I couldn't breed them fast enough to keep the population up.
In 20w18a
In 20w19a
After some testing in 1.16 pre 3, it seems while this issue has been improved, it still exists. Bees will still dip down into the water occasionally when flying over it, and though they usually don't go underwater deep enough to take damage and instantly fly back out, I have still seen them occasionally fly deep enough to take damage, which could possibly lead to them getting killed over a long period of time. It seems to happen when they touch the water and start sinking before they can fly back out.
Definitely still in 1.16.3. Whole hives go empty every 10 days or so.
NVM, just saw MC-190261 exists.
eowyn36
Hmm, I cannot confirm; the bees just fly over the water surface, but I wouldn't describe that as "swimming". Occasionally, bees touch the water surface and water particles appear; but usually they're just flying a few blocks above the surface.