> He wondered if that was the bee's way of staying safe 
> until the storm passed.  Any thoughts?

Anecdotes in this area of inquiry tend to describe 
a propensity for foraging bees to return to the hive 
en masse just before a major storm, and give the 
impression that a beehive is a barometer of sorts.

If this were even half as true as claimed buy some,
no bees would ever have to "wait out a storm", as
they'd all detect the drop in air pressure 
(or whatever) and head home to the hive.

Bees will rest on or in a bloom during their foraging 
sorties, as flying against a headwind can be exhausting.  
If caught by the rain, the bee certainly will stay put, 
as wet wings can't get a bee airborne.  

Sometimes, bees are caught by sundown, and are forced
to spend the night in a bloom.  I've seen bumblebees 
and carpenter bees resting in blossoms much more often 
than honey bees before or at dawn.

In my personal experience, which includes many cases
where unexpected rain caused an abrupt end to what 
was to be a full day's work in the yards, I've never 
gotten the impression that the bees were aware of 
coming storms.

If you want a good severe weather detector, you need
a Corgi.  Corgis seem to have universal knack for it, 
and are also natural herding dogs, so the whole family 
is yapped at, nipped at, and harassed into the basement
rec room whenever serious storms approach. 

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