It depends on what type of bee
Bumblebees can fly at lower temperature than Honeybees, as they've got lovely black hairs all over them to keep them warm.
BUMBLEBEES
(The big, fat, hairy ones)
At this time of year, Bumbles will be big fat queens, looking for nests. They've hibernated over winter underground, and will be out now, looking for nesting places. You may notice that they ignore flowers, and seem unduly interested in dark places, like holes in the ground, or log piles.
Queens will look for some nectar to get some energy, then, when they've found a nest, they'll lay their first batch of eggs. Once the larvae have hatched, she'll tend them, feeding them a mixture of nectar & pollen is wee round balls (called Bee Bread) until they're adults.
They will then been her worker bees (they'll all be her daughters) and will collect pollen & nectar for the other eggs that the queen lays. I don't think she then ever leaves the next again.
During the spring / summer, the colony will build up until it's about the size of a rugby ball (all underground). You'll notice that the foraging bees are smaller than the queen.
Not sure about the detail, but some drones (males) will hatch in later summer (I know in honeybees that these are unfertilised eggs). End of summer / autumn, a virgin queen will hatch & grow, ultimately flying with a could of drones, who will fertilise her mid-flight. The drones then die
With Bumblebees, I'm pretty sure that the drones only hatch at the end of summer, so that the colony doesn't have to put up with them free-loading for too long.
Anyway, the virgin queen will no longer be a virgin. She'll then look for somewhere to hibernate, and will wait until the spring.
Sadly (well, I think so) all of the workers, drones & old queen will then die of starvation over the autumn / winter. Only the (now non-virgin) queen survives.
Drones can be attracted from other nests, which helps with the genetic diversity.
HONEYBEES
(The thin, golden yellow & black ones)
As the honeybees don't have as many warming hairs, they need a higher temperature to get started. The queen will only leave a hive if she is a virgin queen on a mating flight, or if she's an 'old' queen, who is leading a swarm to find a new hive. As this leaves a virgin queen behind (who will hatch, then mate) this is the way that honeybees propogate.
Contrary to popular belief, a Bee Swarm isn't scary. It's simply a colony looking to propogate itself. In fact, before they leave the hive, the bees will fill their stomachs with honey for the journey, which makes them docile, and less likely to sting.
Incidentaly, that's also why bee keepers don't like to lose a part of a colony due to swarming. Not only do you lose 1/2 of your bees, you lose most of your crop. Controlling swarming is key to successful beekeeping.
If it is warm enough, you'll see honeybees starting to fly now. They're primarily collecting pollen for newly hatched larvae. If your honeybees are bringing in pollen, its usually a good indicator that the queen is laying.
There is nothing nicer to see than your girls bringing tonnes of yellow pollen in on a sunny day.
For nectar, they'll actually be using stores from inside the hive, as there isn't much nectar about just yet.
With honeybees, the drones can be created at any time - not just at the end of the season. They free-load over their lives, hanging around, eating up the honey stores and generally getting in the way (just like teenagers).
However, towards the end of the season (late autumn), any remaining drones will be forced out of the hive by the workers - who won't put up with them feeding over the winter.
So, if it's sunny & warm enough, you could see either type.
Solitary bees are another matter, but I've typed enough for now...
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