When a bee pops out of the hive it seems to just float away and not want to return. I've seen things about bees doing this when reloading but I watched one float away to another mountatin and decide to chill there. Other bees at times would just fly into flowing water or lava and kill themselves. Summoned bees also do the same thing after returning to the hive. 

Edit: Went on a bee hunt and found two bees randomly NW of their origin. (They are in the photo tied on the fence)