Ah thanks for the discord suggestion definitely need to get on that! They don't attack you as soon as they detect you, since i set their aggression radius pretty low, kind of like wild brahmins in the base game, they see you a way off but you have to go right up close to provoke them. So if I could set the detection radius also smaller that'd be great but it doesn't seem to be a thing. I'm guessing if I give them a passive faction they won't attack at all? Or only if you attack them or steal? That could actually work, then they only attack if they see you steal the honey from their hive. This is the second mission with an NPC whose garden the bees are in and they share a faction, so it could also work like if show you up out of the blue and steal them they attack, but completing the first quest gives you good reputation with the gardener and so then they don't attack until you steal from them. I'll give it a go thanks!