I found this study where age-related cohorts of bees were marked per-swarm and then after the swarm, the bivouac was recovered and killed and the ages of the bees counted. I would be more enthused if the occurrence of these swarms were less manipulated but the data seems good. Meyer's work might provide an interesting contribution to this thread but I think it's in German- anyway I can't get it.  

 
>It has long been known that a honey bee swarm cluster is covered by a dense mantle of tightly interconnected bees, some 1 – 3 bees thick, which provides protection for the more loosely arranged bees inside the cluster (Meyer, 1956). Also, it was previously reported that the mantle bees are generally the older bees in a swarm whereas those in the core are mainly the younger bees (Meyer, 1956), a finding that is confirmed by our results (Fig. 4). Heinrich (1981a) has pointed out that younger bees have the lowest metabolic rates and the least ability to thermoregulate, and this may explain why they position themselves in the core; they achieve optimum temperatures by seeking the site with the highest temperature and where they are warmed passively.


>Mattison, Siobhán & Seeley, Thomas. (2004). Self-assemblage formation in a social insect: The protective curtain of a honey bee swarm. Insectes Sociaux.

> https://tinyurl.com/y3pau9aa


Bill Hesbach

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