Paper wasps punish peers for misrepresenting their might

Portrait of one Polistes dominulus paper wasp displaying aggressive behavior - Click on image for larger version. Photo credit: Elizabeth Tibbetts ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Falsely advertising one's fighting ability might seem like a good strategy for a wimp who wants to come off as a toughie, but in paper wasp societies, such deception is discouraged through punishment, experiments at the University of Michigan suggest. The research, by evolutionary biologists Elizabeth Tibbetts and Amanda Izzo, will be published online Aug. 19 in the journal Current Biology. Rather than wasting energy by constantly fighting with rivals, many animals use signals that say, in effect, "Don't mess with me; I can whip you." But what's to prevent a weakling from gaining the upper hand by falsely signaling strength? Portraits of nine Polistes dominulus paper wasps, illustrating the variation in facial patterns that functions as a signal of fighting ability - Click on image for larger version. Photo credit: Elizabeth Tibbetts One explanation for why that doesn't often happen is that phony signalers are punished for their misdeeds. For cheaters to be punished, though, the deception must be detected.