Do "virgin" ant queens ever shed their wings?
Good question. I tried to find a few articles to validate my answer, but it would appear that very few professional studies have been done on the matter. One of my hobbies a few years back was ant keeping and I have had several colonies started from queens over the years, so I can share some of my personal experiences.

Anyway, back to your question. For the most part, no. An infertile queen will keep her wings and either find a safe place to lay eggs like a fertile queen or just walk aimlessly until she dies/is eaten. However, there are some rare instances where an infertile queen will shed her wings after the nuptial flight and find a safe place to nest and even in some occasions will lay eggs that are, of course, unfertilized and will therefore die or become male drones.

On the subject, the same is true vice versa. In rare instances, a fertile queen will NOT shed her wings, find a nesting place and even raise a colony all with wings on. Most of the time, however, her first workers to emerge promptly remove them.

I hope this answers your question.

CDB