[log in to unmask] wrote (on April 11, 1999):
"What did I see?
Was it a queen breeding?
They streamed out by the thousands and then returned."

I don't have the answer, but it was "deja vu" to read your description because
I had the same experience here on Saturday.  In my case, it was a split in a
nucleus hive that had several queen cells in it when I split it from the mother
hive.  The bees came out in a big swarm, milled around in the air for some time
and then all returned to the hive rather than clustering somewhere outside.
Since I assumed they had a new virgin queen, I also wondered if this was part
of the "excitement" of the hive encouraging their new queen out on a mating
flight.  After the bees returned, there seemed to be an increased level of in
and out activity in this nuc, whereas before, there had been relatively little
entrance activity.  I'll stick my neck out and say that what I think I saw was
a hive of bees getting their queen to go out on a mating flight, although I'm
not sure of that.  I guess time will tell--if I get a good new laying queen in
this nuc in a week or two, then that would tend to confirm this hypothesis.

Layne Westover
College Station, Texas