Minecraft wiki entry for Honey_farming, associated text: Bee nests and beehives both slowly fill up with honey over time as the bees do their work collecting pollen from flowers. If you find a natural bee nest and it is conveniently located, you can leave it as is and return to collect the honey when you want. Keep in mind that breaking a bee nest without Silk Touch breaks it without dropping anything and, cause all the bees from that nest to swarm the player regardless of whether or not a campfire was placed underneath it. Aside from hazard to the player, this is disastrous because the bees die from stinging you, and this can wipe out a hive.