 Significantly different dimethylalkanes were found in foundresses belonging to different colonies, suggesting that these could be used to discriminate species of different origins.Because the chemicals coated on the nests are equivalent to that present in adult "P. dominula" bodies, young wasps learn this chemical template in the very early state of the adult life to later on be able to distinguish their nest mates from non-nest mates.The CHC composition of the larvae and adults are very different, in 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.