Bee Hive

Hitting one does not pop it where it hangs. It drops, tumbles along the floor, and only bursts when it finally comes to rest. That delay is the whole problem. You can clear a ceiling, walk on, and get jumped several tiles later by bees you thought you had dodged. Break them from a distance and wait for the noise before moving.

A hive that ends up in water or lava produces no swarm at all and just leaves you the building material. If you are clearing jungle above a pool that is free. If you actually want the fight, do not knock them over open water.

You cannot mine a placed hive back into your inventory. Swinging a pickaxe at it does the same thing as swinging a sword: it falls and breaks. Anything you set up with these in an arena or a trap corridor is spent the first time it triggers.

A hive dropped down a long shaft can land far enough away that the swarm despawns on arrival. Bees also stop appearing once the world is already crowded with creatures, which is exactly the situation during an event or an invasion.