According to this post from a dev, in the Reign of Giants expansion, killer bees can be used for crafting during some parts of the year provided you have encountered them in the wild and not caused them to spawn from a hive.
Following is a copy of his response:
I think the problem is that killer bees are not valid for beeboxes or bee mines (I think, haven't checked in a while) and the bumblebees now look identical
Yeah, this is definitely something we considered. Ultimately, we decided that we preferred the slight inconsistency of a red Spring bee turning into a yellow bee when you catch it to not having this mechanic at all.
- Can we use the red spring bees as bee ingredients for boxes and mines? That was actually what prompted me to check here; I was all psyched up to make a bee box when spring came, and all I saw were red bees. As I said above, red spring bees will revert to normal yellow bees when you catch them. So, yes, you can use them in those recipes.
As for telling them apart (i.e. for knowing that a bee you're trying to catch is valid for a recipe), the rule that actual killer bees won't spawn unless you start attacking the bees/beehives is still in place. So, if you happen upon a bee in the world and you haven't attacked any bees or beehives, that's a normal bee for crafting purposes, regardless of its color.
I think the problem is that killer bees are not valid for beeboxes or bee mines (I think, haven't checked in a while) and the bumblebees now look identical Yeah, this is definitely something we considered. Ultimately, we decided that we preferred the slight inconsistency of a red Spring bee turning into a yellow bee when you catch it to not having this mechanic at all.
On 3/13/2014 at 2:21 PM, Zalyn said: 2) Can we use the red spring bees as bee ingredients for boxes and mines? That was actually what prompted me to check here; I was all psyched up to make a bee box when spring came, and all I saw were red bees.
As I said above, red spring bees will revert to normal yellow bees when you catch them. So, yes, you can use them in those recipes.
As for telling them apart (i.e. for knowing that a bee you're trying to catch is valid for a recipe), the rule that actual killer bees won't spawn unless you start attacking the bees/beehives is still in place. So, if you happen upon a bee in the world and you haven't attacked any bees or beehives, that's a normal bee for crafting purposes, regardless of its color.