> I have thought about this, should I send the
> ones on the ground, the ones still in the
> frames that are dead, or the ones that are
> staggering around?

The only bees that you can be sure of are the staggering ones.

They are known "fresh", so you can provide a date and time that they
collected.
I brush them into a zip-lock, and then into a cooler with a chunk of dry ice
or  freezer ASAP.

This quickly knocks them unconscious, and after a short time, yields what I
am assured by neurologists
Is a less painful and humane end than whatever is making them stagger.  Once
a bee staggers, it is doomed.

>> I don't think that any hive would have so
>> many guards, so the bees on the front of
>> the hive would simply be hot, and the
>> hive needing more ventilation.

> definitely not needing more ventilation, none are fanning,
> all are above and around the entrance greeting all incoming workers.

But "greeting incoming workers" simply is not what bees on the front of the
hive do.
If the cause is not heat, perhaps these bees are gathered on the front
because they are unable to fly easily.
Have you considered that you might have a tracheal mite infestation?
This might explain both the "staggering" and the bees collected on the front
of the hive.

Again, just trying to plug the facts into a narrative that seems plausible
here.

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