Chemical communication is pivotal for social insects to ensure proper functioning of their colonies. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are the most well-known class of compounds used to regulate different types of behavioural interaction within a social context. Queens of highly eusocial insects rely on the use of chemical communication to keep their reproductive monopoly, whereas queens of primitively eusocial insects often exert physical control to maintain reproductive dominance. However, in the past years, ample evidence has demonstrated that primitively eusocial insects also use chemical compounds to communicate. Based on this evidence, we aimed to elucidate whether CHCs carry some information regarding female hierarchical position, ovary activation and nestmate recognition in the primitively eusocial wasp Mischocyttarus parallelogrammus. Additionally, females were classified by their ovary activation. Finally, the cuticular profiles of females originating from different nests were compared to check whether CHCs convey information about their nest of origin. Our results confirmed that the chemical composition of alpha and subordinate females differed significantly in post-worker emergence nests, but that alpha and beta females surprisingly were not chemically different from each other in either of the colony phases. Furthermore, females with activated ovaries expressed a chemical profile distinct from that of females with non-activated ovaries. Lastly, we showed that CHCs might convey information about nest origin, since females hailing from different nests showed distinct chemical profiles. Based on our results, we conclude that CHCs might play a critical role in the nest-functioning of M. parallelogrammus, since they mirror social status.

化学交流对于社交昆虫来说至关重要，以确保其殖民地的正常运转。表皮碳氢化合物（CHCs）是最知名的一类化合物，用于调节社交环境中不同类型的行为相互作用。高度共社会昆虫的女王依靠化学交流来保持其生殖垄断，而原始共社会昆虫的女王通常通过施加身体控制来维持生殖优势。但是，在过去几年中，大量证据表明，原始的共社会昆虫也使用化合物进行交流。基于此证据，我们旨在阐明CHC是否在原始的共社会黄蜂中携带有关女性等级位置，卵巢激活和巢伴侣识别的信息。平行四指鱼。另外，雌性通过卵巢激活进行分类。最后，比较了来自不同巢的雌性的表皮轮廓，以检查CHC是否传达有关其巢的信息。我们的结果证实，α-和β-雌性的化学成分在工作后出现的巢中有显着差异，但令人惊讶的是，α-β和β雌性在两个菌落阶段的化学成分均互不相同。此外，具有激活的卵巢的女性所表达的化学特征不同于具有未激活的卵巢的女性。最后，我们表明，由于来自不同巢穴的雌性显示出不同的化学特征，因此CHC可能传达有关巢穴起源的信息。根据我们的结果，M. parallelogrammus，因为它们反映了社会地位。