A couple of times, I have gone back to a hive a day later and found the queen and a small bunch of bees hanging under or on the side of a hive. Now that is not saying that a few haven't made it back in too. The ones I recall where usually on the back side of the hive away from the entrance, perhaps if she dropped new the front of the hive, she would find her way into the hive. I have also had queens fly off while handling them, and they usually return to the hive.