More Bees Mod Wiki

More Bees is a major expansion for the Forestry mod, designed to bridge the gap between apiculture and resource gathering. By breeding specific lineages of bees, players can automate the production of nearly every raw material in Minecraft, including iron, gold, diamonds, and even resources from popular mods like IndustrialCraft 2, Tinkers' Construct, and Draconic Evolution.

The mod introduces new bee branches, specialized frames to manipulate mutation rates, and a variety of combs that can be processed into nuggets, dusts, or gems. It is widely used in technical modpacks to provide a renewable, lag-efficient alternative to traditional quarrying.

The mod adds several distinct branches of bees. Each species has specific climate requirements (typically matching their resource type) and produces unique combs.

Metallic Branch

These bees produce combs that can be centrifuged into metal grains or nuggets.

Gem Branch

These bees produce crystalline combs that yield gem fragments or dust.

Earthy & Utility Branch

Bees that produce building materials and miscellaneous items.

More Bees adds several tools to assist in the management of large-scale apiaries.

Bee Smoker

The Bee Smoker is an upgraded version of the standard Forestry tool. It is used to calm bees in a hive, allowing the player to pick them up without receiving damage or negative effects. It has significantly higher durability than the basic smoker.

• Recipe: 2x Iron Ingots, 1x Leather, 1x Stick.

Resource Combs

Every new bee species produces a specific comb. These combs must be processed in a Centrifuge to yield their resources.

• Metallic Combs: Yield "Grains" (e.g., Iron Grain). 9 Grains can be crafted into a single Nugget.
• Gem Combs: Yield "Fragments" or the gems themselves depending on the bee's tier.
• Specialty Combs: Yield items like Clay Balls, Obsidian Dust, or Ender Pearls.

Frames are placed inside Apiaries or Alvearies to modify the behavior of the bees. More Bees adds frames specifically designed to speed up the breeding process.

Mutating Frame

Crafted using a standard Untreated Frame and Chocolate. This frame is essential for obtaining rare mutations like the Diamond or Platinum bee, as it doubles the base chance of a successful mutation.

Soul Frame

Crafted using an Untreated Frame and Soul Sand. It provides a moderate boost to mutation but significantly shortens the bee's life, allowing for faster cycle rotations when trying to stabilize a new species.

Breeding in More Bees follows the standard Forestry mechanics but introduces complex dependency chains. To reach the high-tier resource bees, players must progress through the following stages:

1. The Foundation: Start by breeding Rocky Bees (found in hives or bred from Common bees). These serve as the base for almost all metallic and earthy species.
2. The Industrial Path: Develop the Industrious and Imperial lines from Forestry. These are required as parents for the Gold, Emerald, and Silver species.
3. The Metallic Tier: Use Rocky bees combined with Industrious/Imperial lines to create Iron and Copper.
4. The Gem Tier: Once Gold and Emerald bees are stabilized, they can be cross-bred to produce the Diamond species.

Mutation Requirements

Some bees require specific blocks to be placed underneath the Apiary to mutate:

• Iron Bee: May require an Iron Block.
• Gold Bee: May require a Gold Block.
• Quartz Bee: Requires Netherrack or Soul Sand environment.

More Bees features extensive compatibility with other industrial mods. If these mods are installed, additional bee species will become available:

• IndustrialCraft 2: Adds Uranium and Rubber bees.
• Tinkers' Construct: Adds Aluminum, Cobalt, and Ardite bees.
• Thermal Foundation: Adds Bronze, Electrum, and Invar bees.
• Draconic Evolution: Adds Draconium bees (extremely rare, requires The End environment).
• Applied Energistics 2: Adds Certus Quartz and Fluix bees.

These bees typically follow the mutation logic of their base materials (e.g., a Bronze bee is a mutation of Copper and Tin bees).

The mod provides a morebees.cfg file that allows server administrators to balance the resource output. Key configurable options include:

• Mutation Rates: Global multiplier for all More Bees mutations.
• Production Rates: Adjust how often bees produce combs.
• Mod Integration Toggles: Enable or disable specific mod-support bees (e.g., disabling Draconium bees for balance).
• Frame Effectiveness: Adjust the multipliers provided by the Mutating and Soul frames.