Timing matters when assessing dominance and chemical signatures in the paper wasp Polistes dominulus

A recent study (Izzo et al., Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64: 857-864, 2010) reported that cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) correlate with fertility, not dominance, in the paper wasp Polistes dominulus thus contradicting the results of recent investigations which concluded that social dominance is the main determinant for CHC signatures in this species. We suggest here that different forms of dominance in the pre-nesting and post-nesting phases caused the apparently contradictory results. Thus the assumption that dominance behaviour in the pre-nesting stage is synonymous with dominance after colony foundation is incorrect. We provide standardised definitions for forms of dominance observed in the P. dominulus life cycle to avoid apparent discrepancies in the future among studies dealing with the same topics in different annual stages.