Oh wow! I went back and played again and it was so obvious as soon as I started the game and saw the tiles on the floor - amazing!
Idea: what if the correct path through the maze could match one of the songs?
I recommended my game to my sister and she liked it and found the catacombs straight away so it is definitely working for some people. She said it was very obvious where to go... Maybe it doesn't need a massive change, maybe just a bee before the mushrooms that spawns after the flower is found (and de-spawns when you get the immunity) that tells you to explore the hive more before attempting to get through the mushrooms without the powerup.