Firefly Bush

"Firefly" redirects here. For the scrapped mob, see Firefly (mob). For the song, see Fireflies (song).

Firefly Bush

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool	Any tool
Blast resistance	0
Hardness	0
Luminous	Yes (2) No (snowlogged)
Transparent	Yes
Flammable	Yes
Catches fire from lava	No
Map color	7 PLANT
Note block instrument	Default (Harp)

A firefly bush is a decorative plant that produces firefly particles around it when exposed to darkness.

Obtaining

Breaking

Firefly bushes can be broken instantly with any item or by hand, and always drop themselves.^[1]

Block	Firefly Bush
Hardness	0
Breaking time (secs)
Default	10.05 (JE) 0.05 (BE)

Legend

• incorrect tool, drops nothing
• correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
• correct tool, drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

Firefly bushes are also removed and drop as an item if:

• its attachment block is moved, removed, or destroyed.
• water or lava flows into its space.
• a piston tries to push it or moves a block into its space.
• it is placed on a mud block, and that mud block converts to clay.

Natural generation

Firefly bushes generate in the form of random patches, on grass blocks near water in most Overworld biomes. They also can generate on mud blocks near water in mangrove swamps.

In swamps, firefly bushes can generate anywhere, instead of being limited to near water.

Firefly bushes in Bedrock Edition have fewer exceptions for which biomes they can generate in, but since grass does not naturally generate in all Overworld biomes and the list still excludes badlands, eroded badlands and wooded badlands, they are actually found in fewer places than in Java Edition.

Firefly bushes can generate as part of abandoned camps in swamps and forests.

Post-generation

When bone meal is applied to a firefly bush, the bush spreads to neighboring blocks.

Trading

Wandering traders may sell 1 firefly bush for 3 emeralds.

Villager		Probability		Villager wants	Player receives	Trades in stock	Villager experience	Price multiplier
		JE	BE
Wandering Trader	Ordinary	6%	6%	3 × Emerald	Firefly Bush	12	—	—

Mob loot

In Bedrock Edition, wandering traders have a chance of 25% (increased by 1% per level of Looting) to drop 1 firefly bush when killed while showing the item as trade offer, if the player holds an emerald.

Usage

A firefly bush emits firefly particles if the internal light level at its position is 13 or lower. A firefly bush can produce particles even if it is covered by blocks. Firefly particles glow in the dark, but do not actually light up their surroundings. Firefly particles move erratically and collide with solid blocks.

On each tick, a firefly bush has a 70% chance of emitting a new firefly particle in an air block up to 5 blocks above the bush and horizontally up to 5 blocks away in Java Edition, or up to 10 blocks away in Bedrock Edition. A firefly particle lasts between 200 game ticks (10 seconds) and 300 game ticks (15 seconds), fading from transparency into an opaque pale yellow color, and back into transparency before disappearing.

Firefly bushes have a low light level of 2.

The pulsating "fireflies" on the bush itself remain at maximum brightness regardless of the surrounding light level. This affects placed firefly bushes, but the item form of firefly bushes still appear at the surrounding brightness level.^[2]

Placement

Firefly bushes mainly serve as atmospheric decoration and can be placed on any of the following blocks:

In Bedrock Edition, firefly bushes can be snowlogged. When snowlogged, a firefly bush doesn't emit particles nor ambient sounds.

Composting

Placing a firefly bush into a composter has a 30% chance of raising the compost level by 1. A stack of firefly bushes drops an average of 2.74 bone meal.

Ambient sounds

At night (between 12600 and 23400 ticks), a firefly bush emits firefly buzzing sounds if no collidable blocks (excluding leaves) are placed above it. A firefly bush may still produce firefly particles in a dark cave or an unlit space, without the bush emitting ambient sounds if it is daytime.

Sounds

Generic

Java Edition:

sweet_berry_bush sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.sweet_berry_bush.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	0.8	0.8	16
	​Block placed​[until: JE 26.4]	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.sweet_berry_bush.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	0.8	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.grass.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.grass.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.grass.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

sweet_berry_bush sound type
Sound	Closed captions	Source	Description	Identifier	Translation key	Volume	Pitch
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.sweet_berry_bush.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.sweet_berry_bush.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8–1.0
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.grass	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5

Unique

Java Edition:

Bedrock Edition:

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Translation key
Firefly Bush	firefly_bush	Block & Item	replaceable_by_mushrooms replaceable_by_trees	block.minecraft.firefly_bush

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID[i 1]	Translation key
Firefly Bush	firefly_bush	1280	Block & Giveable Item[i 2]	Identical[i 3] (Numeric: -1025)	tile.firefly_bush.name

History

Announcement

October 16, 2021							Fireflies, while a mob at that time, are announced at Minecraft Live 2021.
May 10, 2022							Fireflies are confirmed to have been scrapped.
January 26, 2025							The Minecraft Instagram account releases a post teasing firefly bushes.

Java Edition

Java Edition
1.21.5			25w05a				Added firefly bushes.
			25w06a				Firefly bushes now emit ambient sounds at night and when the block above is not collidable, except leaves.
							No longer prevents trees from growing.
			25w07a				Now spreads to neighboring blocks when bone meal is applied.
							Firefly bushes no longer generate like sugar cane and are now allowed to survive away from water after the patch has been placed, matching Bedrock Edition.
							Firefly particles now change their opacity over time instead of changing colors, matching Bedrock Edition.
			25w09a				The firefly bush can now generate near water in mangrove swamps and all types of badlands (very rarely), like other biomes with water.
1.21.6			25w15a				Now produce larger, and more constant, amounts of particles.
26.3			snap1				Firefly bushes can now generate as part of abandoned camps in forests.

Bedrock Edition

Bedrock Edition
1.18.10			beta 1.18.10.26				Earliest known instance of firefly mentions in the code.
1.19.0			Preview 1.19.10.20				Removed fireflies from the code.[3]
1.21.70 Experiment Drop 1 2025			Preview 1.21.70.20				Added firefly bushes.
			Preview 1.21.70.22				Firefly bushes now emit ambient sounds at night and when the block above is not collidable, except leaves.
							The item texture of firefly bushes has been changed to match Java Edition.
1.21.70			Preview 1.21.70.23				All features behind the "Drop 1 2025" experimental toggle have been fully implemented.
							Bone meal now has the same effect as on the bush block.
26.40 Experiment Drop 3 of 2026			Preview 26.40.27				Firefly bushes can now generate as part of abandoned camps in forests.
26.50			Preview 26.50.22				All features from the "Drop 3 of 2026" experiment have been fully implemented.

Data history

Issues

Issues relating to "Firefly Bush" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• Prior to the addition to the base game, fireflies also appeared in Minecraft: Story Mode and Minecraft Dungeons.

Gallery

• 
  A patch of firefly bushes during daytime
• 
  Fireflies flying around firefly bushes with a frog close by

Mojang screenshots

• 
  Firefly bushes under the moon
• 
  Several firefly bushes with the rising moon behind them
• 
  Fireflies glimmering in the dark

Development images

• 
  Fireflies as mobs
• 
  Fireflies near frogs
• 
  A frog catching fireflies

Concept artwork

• 
  Concept art of the mangrove swamp with many fireflies present
• 
  Concept art of the swamp at night with many fireflies present
• 
  Concept art of swamp, mangrove swamp, and birch forest with many fireflies present

In other media

• 
  A firefly in Minecraft: Story Mode
• 
  A firefly in Minecraft Dungeons

References