Overview
Villages Alive — The Apiary lets you summon a fully built, self-managing apiary with a single block placement. The build includes cherry trees, decorative flowers, copper lanterns, eight working beehives, and a dedicated humanoid beekeeper named Nectar Ned who harvests honey and manages on-site storage — all generated automatically and oriented to face the direction you choose.
What It Adds
| Content | Description |
|---|
| Apiary Placement Block | Craftable consumable block that triggers the apiary build when placed |
| The Apiary Structure | A 26×33×32 lot with four cherry trees, pink petals, wildflowers, copper lanterns, and eight beehives on oak plank bases |
| Nectar Ned | A passive, damage-immune humanoid beekeeper who harvests and stores honey |
The Apiary Structure
When the placement block is used, the mod clears a large lot and builds a complete apiary oriented to match the direction you were facing:
- Four cherry trees — one at each corner, each ringed with pink petals and wildflowers, lit by two copper lanterns.
- Eight beehives — arranged in two neat rows on oak plank bases with walking space between them.
- Rear storage gap — the space between the two rear cherry trees is kept clear of decorations, reserved for Ned's chests.
- The ground beneath the structure is levelled to a grass foundation, one block lower than your placement point.
Nectar Ned
Nectar Ned is a humanoid beekeeper who spawns in the apiary a few seconds after it is generated. He carries shears and runs the entire harvesting operation on his own.
Behaviour
- Harvests only full hives. Ned scans the eight apiary beehives and only collects from a hive when it has reached maximum honey level. He never disturbs a hive that isn't ready.
- Carries honey to storage. After harvesting, Ned walks to a storage chest and deposits 3 honeycombs per harvest trip.
- Places chests dynamically. Ned places single chests in the rear gap as storage is needed, starting near the right rear cherry tree and expanding left toward the left rear tree. Adjacent chests can merge into double chests automatically.
- Deposits in order. Ned fills chests from right to left, moving to the next only when the current one is full.
- Pauses when storage is full. If all available chest space is used and no more chest space can be created, Ned stops and waits, periodically rechecking whether space has opened up (e.g. if you empty a chest).
- Completely passive. Ned never fights mobs, never retaliates, and is fully immune to all damage. He drops nothing when killed, though there is no reason to harm him.
Crafting And Obtaining
The Apiary Placement Block is crafted at a crafting table. Having a honeycomb or a beehive in your inventory will unlock the recipe in the recipe book.
In Survival mode, breaking an Apiary Placement Block before placing it will drop the block back as an item. In Creative mode it drops nothing.
Progression And Strategy
- Pick your location carefully. The apiary clears a large 26×33×32 area one block below your placement point. Make sure the area is open — trees, structures, and terrain in that footprint will be removed.
- Face the right direction. The direction you are looking when you place the block becomes the front of the apiary. The rear storage gap (where Ned places chests) is at the back, opposite your facing.
- Let Ned fill the chests naturally. Ned adds chests only as needed, so at first there may be none. Come back after the hives have had time to fill up.
- Empty chests to keep Ned working. If all chests are full, Ned pauses. Collect honeycombs from the storage chests to free space and he will resume automatically.
- Multiple apiaries are possible. Each Apiary Placement Block generates its own independent apiary with its own Nectar Ned, so you can build several in different locations.
