“…Discrimination between nestmates and non-nestmates, which are usually kin and non-kin, respectively, is often represented as a higher tolerance towards nestmates than to non-nestmates, and is widely observed among social wasps 8,9,19 . Cuticular hydrocarbons have been thought to be responsible for nestmate recognition because some social wasps are known to have colony-specific hydrocarbon profiles, for example, Dolichovespula maculate 2 , Vespula squamosa, V. macurifrons 1 , Vespa crabro 1,3,16 , Polistes fuscatus 7 , Polistes exclamans 18 , Polistes biglumis bimaculatus: 11,12 , Polistes dominulus 4 , and Polistes satan 21 .…”