Bald-faced hornet hydrocarbons serve as a barrier to moisture diffusion and thus prevent dehydration in wasps. Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles vary over species and nests, and so cuticular hydrocarbons are a proposed mechanism for nest-mate recognition. Worker and queen cuticular lipids have similar components, but their distributions differ dramatically, implying that cuticular hydrocarbons also play a role in caste differentiation. The following lipid profiles were determined from specimens collected in the summer and early fall of northeastern Georgia in 1989. The dominant hydrocarbons recovered from the cuticles of workers were n-alkanes and methyl branched and dimethyl branched alkanes with a C27 or a
Decorah Bald Eagles and tail) develops when bald eagles are sexually mature, between 4 and 5 years of age. The species is placed in the genus "Haliaeetus" (sea eagles) which gets both its common and scientific names from the distinctive appearance of the adult's head. "Bald" in the English name is derived from the word "piebald", meaning "white headed". The Decorah Mom is younger than Dad, and is easily differentiated by her "eyeshadow" and darker feathers interspersed with the white ones on her head and tail. Dad has a fully white head and tail and is noticeably smaller than Mom; male bald eagles