Serious proposal for beekeeping expansion, adding two items to the game:
Bee box - Higher-tech alternative to skeps. Crafted with planks, and consists of two interactable "frames". Once placed, the player must fill the frames by re-investing a small amount of beeswax to act as a foundation for the bees to build on (this also means players can't skip making skeps, and skeps would still be the only way to transport live bees). Once the frames are populated and harvestable, interacting with them will harvest the honeycomb from that frame, and the process can begin again. Bees will still have a chance to swarm and attack, as normal.
Smoker - High tech beekeeping tool. Crafted from metal plates and a bellows (I believe bellows are already planned for a future update to the forge). Must be fueled with dry grass and ignited. Once ignited, it will begin releasing a thin trail of smoke particles from the spout. When held and used, it will emit puffs of large smoke particles. Upon touching a skep or bee box, the smoke will guarantee(?) that the bees will not swarm if you harvest from that block within a short period of time.
Also worth saying, there could be a special set of late game beekeeping clothing/armor, which would make the player immune to bee swarm damage while worn. I've seen the Nadiyan beekeeper set in the handbook, but I have no idea if it is actually attainable or functional.
