Abstract
The ability of queens of the paper wasp Polistes fuscatus to recognize larvae on the basis of colony origin was investigated in the laboratory. In a blind, binary choice paradigm, queens discriminated between larvae from their own colony and unrelated larvae, and between larvae from a sister colony and unrelated larvae. However, queens failed to discriminate between larvae from their own colony and larvae from a sister colony, indicating that queens of multiple‐foundress colonies may lack the ability to make intracolonial brood discriminations on the basis of relatedness. These results demonstrate that recognition of larvae is mediated by larval‐borne, genetically specified odors. Gas chromatograph/mass spectral analysis revealed that adults and larvae have similar cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, suggesting that the cues mediating larval and adult recognition may be the same.
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