Beehive

Beehive is a Timberborn building that passively boosts crop growth in a 7x7 area centered on the structure. The beehive’s area of effect covers up to 48 farmable tiles (the 7x7 column minus the hive tile itself) and its mechanics operate automatically: every two in-game hours the hive scans its aura for eligible crops that have not received a boost in at least 24 hours and awards instantaneous growth boosts to three randomly chosen crops from that list.

The boost accelerates affected crops by roughly 42.8% overall (approximately a 30% reduction in their growth time). Each boosted crop then enters a 24-hour cooldown during which it cannot receive another boost. Because boosts are applied in 3-per-2-hours pulses and boosted crops require a day before they are eligible again, a single beehive cannot continuously speed up every crop in its coverage; practical maximums reported by community sources vary. One calculation shows each hive can affect at most 36 crops per day under a strict interpretation of the boost cadence, while another analysis estimates a theoretical support of up to 39–39 crops before the hive’s effect begins to dilute. Overlapping beehive coverage redistributes remaining boosts among crops in range.

Beehives can cause minor negative well-being effects from bee stings for beavers and some buildings or pathways that cross the hive column. Bots (automation units introduced in Update 2; formerly called Golems) are not affected by regular well-being needs or by bee stings, so they can safely perform farming duties inside beehive-affected areas. Beehives were introduced during Early Access and were changed in Update 6 so they are no longer restricted to ground-only placement.

• Place beehives so their 7x7 ranges cover the densest useful portion of your fields while leaving room to match the hive’s effective boost capacity (aim for about 36–39 crops per hive to maximize realized boosts).
• Overlap beehive ranges when necessary; overlapping fields help redistribute boosts so fewer crops miss out.
• Avoid routing Paths and Ziplines through a hive’s column if you want to minimize bee-sting penalties for non-farmers. Buildings or walkways placed above or below the hive column also risk causing stings.
• Use bots as dedicated farmers in high-sting areas because bots ignore well-being and work 24/7.
• Remember that boosts are instantaneous gains in crop progress, not gradual bonuses; plan harvest cycles and field layouts around the 2-hour boost pulses and the 24-hour crop cooldown.

Beehives are themed on real-world beekeeping: their hexagonal cell structure is efficient for honey storage, and the game’s flavor text and community pages include trivia about hive behavior and honey production consistent with natural beekeeping facts.