> Evidently, virgin queens evoke the same or similar responses as mated queens, which seems to indicate that their capacity to control the colony is not > dependent on their status as a laying or non-laying queen. 

One area where I would disagree is in the ability of virgin queens to suppress laying workers.  In mating nucs, if a queen misses and a cell is put in, often laying workers can start whilst the virgin queen is in the hive.  It stops about the time that the queen starts laying.

Trevor Weatherhead
Australia
 

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