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Abstract

This investigation was conducted using 18 hives of a strain of bee found in the Karaj, Iran area. The experiment was conducted in the College of Agriculture Experiment Station. The hives were randomly dividid into three groups of six hives each which were kept for three months . A mixture of powdered sugar, honey and soybean meal was fed to the first group. The second group was fed powdered sugar and honey while the third group was kept as a control without any extra feeding Groups 1 and 2 were subjected to their respective feeding program twice throughout the experiment. Twenty one days after each feeding program, laying performance of each of the hive queens was determined. Results of the statistical analyses indicated that the laying performance of the queens of the three groups were significantly different, and the diet with soybean meal gave the highest laying performance