that the larvae's relative abundance of low-molecular-weight cuticular hydrocarbons is higher and that the larval profiles are more uniform than those of adults. Adults are also able to distinguish odors of their own colonial larval cuticular hydrocarbons from those of foreign colonies. Behavior Foundress behavior In the first 12 days of the nesting period, 75% of foundresses leave their original nests, and travel to around three nests before settling permanently, choosing the nest with the highest reproductive payoff. Foundresses choose nest sites by weighing the benefit of an expanded colony with the cost of predation risk. Multiple-foundress nests have a higher chance of survival compared to single-foundress nests, and in general, foundresses found nests with those with which they hibernate in the same aggregation. Comb arrangement The nest, consisting of a single comb, is the heart of the colony, where food is stored and the immature brood reared. It is also the central spatial reference where the majority of individuals spend their time. P. dominula does not occupy the comb in random distribution. Each wasp spends the majority of its time on the comb in a relatively small area, around 12% of the comb. This small use of space is the norm, regardless of the number of wasps on the nest. However, this area could occasionally cover up to 50% of the comb. Dominant females occupy a smaller area than do subordinate foundresses and workers. Superimposition rates are low, which suggests that wasps limit each other's spaces. Workers prefer to overlap areas with other workers, while foundresses prefer to overlap areas with other foundresses. Around 70% of workers are active and occupy a small area of the comb, while the rest do not have particular fidelity areas and spend most of their time away from the nest or remaining motionless behind the nest. Alpha females are affected by cell content, resting more frequently on capped cells and avoiding empty ones. Cooperation Cooperation provides survival benefits; multiple-foundress groups are more likely to survive to produce offspring than are single-foundress groups, and individual foundresses in multiple-foundress colonies are less likely to disappear before worker emergence than foundresses nesting alone. Therefore, association provides significant productivity and survival advantages for cooperating foundresses. Cooperation provides survival benefits only if individual foundresses on a multiple-foundress nest have a greater chance of survival than individuals that found nests alone or the foundress' contribution to the nest is