> When I see a single queen cell appear in an eggless and queenless colony

Yes, but how often does a colony with laying workers ever become queen-right without intervention by the beekeeper? I kept one laying worker colony this year and watched it fizzle down to zero. 

Another one I tried to save by adding brood, and they wouldn't even raise a queen from brood. It wasn't until the brood hatched and there were enough "normal" bees in the hive that _those bees_ raise a queen from additional brood I added. 

BTW, the hive appears normal now, but it is not the same colony, derived as it was from the added brood.

PLB

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