Hibernation clustering and its consequences on associative nest foundation in Polistes dominulus (Hymenoptera Vespidae).

Various studies indicate that cuticular hydro-carbons (CHCs) act as cues for nestmate recognition inpaper wasps and other social insects. A recent studyshowed that associative nest foundation inPolistes do-minulusis mainly performed by foundresses coming fromthe same locality. In the present study, we induced futurefoundresses ofP. dominuluscollected in two differentlocalities to hibernate in the laboratory in aggregates ofindividuals from the same or different localities. After2 months of hibernation, foundresses from different lo-calities but from the same experimental cluster did notshow any preference to associate, at the time of nestfoundation, with individuals coming from the same orig-inal locality. The cuticular chemical profiles of individ-uals from the mixed hibernation clusters were quitesimilar and significantly different from those of individ-uals which hibernated with other foundresses from thesame locality. These findings suggest that, in this species,mechanisms other than nestmate chemical recognitionplay a major role in the spring association of gynes duringthe foundation of a new nest