Peter and All,
 This subject has been around for a long time. Yesterday I opened my 1884, The Hive and the Honeybee, to see the problems they had with Queens. They did see a problem chilling the Queens. That part has not changed over time. It could be a factor today because of transportation. 
 The idea that Queen Pheromones controls supersedure is very tough to prove.  When the Russians came out I bought 2 breeder queens. It was the white line and no acceptance was the norm. I talked to Mark Winston about testing the pheromones of the queens. He said that it would be almost impossible to find something to hang your hat on. Then he sent me all of his work on Queen Pheromones , it was a stack 3 inches thick. After two weeks I finished reading and then understood the problem. The variable's in chemical composition was too broad to come up with a good conclusion .  What I did do was put a drop of QMP on a queen and the workers would come to her. 
As far as supersedure  we are sill in the chicken or the egg stage in knowledge.  Back in the 60's I would see two queens in a hive and it was a smooth transition to the new queen. The old one had her wings wore off but the workers still paid attention to her.
 One thing I do know is queen quality has gone down over the years. I do not think it is just one thing that has made this to happen. Changes to the environment that the queens have been subjected to is a big step. The genetics is another problem.  I have seen the differences with my own eyes. One line would supersede more than another. I did follow it down two generations.
  Best Regards
Roy Nettlebeck
 

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