Table 1.

Polistes dominulus use facial patterns to assess potential opponents. (The focal wasps were more likely to approach a food patch guarded by a wasp with fewer black facial spots than a patch guarded by a wasp with more black facial spots (Pearson's Χ²=18.7, p=0<0.0001).)

guard facial patterns	focal wasp choice
	low-quality guard	high-quality guard
0 versus 1 spot	10	4
0 versus 2 spots	17	5
1 versus 2 spots	12	0
total	39	9