Would removing most of the foraging force calm down the hive? Yes, for any number of reasons. Just the reduction in number of total bees alone will generally settle them down somewhat. But the older foragers are habituated to being more defensive, so getting rid of them is a big step. 

Also, the emerging bees will not be exposed to a bunch of bees on the defensive, and may in fact develop normally without this annoying behavior Last but not least, getting rid of most of the old bees will make it much easier to find the queen, if you want to replace her. 

Finally, the behavior may be keyed to a particular patriline and not necessarily to traits of the queen. But assuming she retains sperm of that patriline, perhaps it would be the smart move to get rid of her. (You still have her drones flitting about which could continue the lineage).

PLB

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