Bees wander off away from their hives in a Northwest direction forever, and never return, leaving empty hives behind. The runaway bees tend to have pollen on their bodies. You can lure them back with flowers and they do reintegrate back into random hives, but they will wander off again in the same fashion.

Attached photo is a screenshot of a group of bees that have left their hives. The lines represent the general direction of where the original hives are located. There is strong evidence of a clear Northwest direction of travel