Part of communicating on this list is to learn, right?  But we can't forget
humor, can we?
 
You say this person has a healthy-looking hive.  This is not important
because it doesn't matter if the hive looks poorly or looks good.  We need
to know more about the colony of bees within the hive.  (Subtle aren't I?)
How many combs of bees are in the cluster?  How long has the colony been
queenless?  How long have they been exhibiting the aberrant behavior of
crawling on the ground?  Have they been observed to cluster above or below
the hive entrance?  What is the previous history of the hive of bees?
 
The bees aren't likely to be looking for their queen.  They know about her
loss within a few minutes to 20 minutes (depending on the colony size) of
being without her.
 
I suspect that a number of things are going on here.  There might have been
a significant Honey Bee Tracheal and/or Varroa mite problem.  If the colony
has been queenless for a week or more, they sometimes exhibit strange
behaviors like clustering on the outside of the hive (front or side).  Add
the stress of mites to queenlessness and new behaviors may be exhibited.
 
Several beekeepers here are reporting bees clustering up the front of hives
even on days when the temperatures are in the mid 50s F.  When asked about
the crowded conditions in the hive they reply that it is full of bees.
When they add supers as appropriate the heat clustering stops and the bees
remain inside the hive.
 
An odd swarming behavior may be a good guess if the colony had a queen and
they were actually swarming.  I've seen some odd things with a swarming
queen with a clipped wing.
 
James C. Bach
WSDA State Apiarist
Yakima, WA
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