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
USS Hornet (CV-8) a halt, another damaged "Val" deliberately crashed into "Hornet"'s port side near the bow. With power knocked out to her engines, "Hornet" was unable to launch or land aircraft, forcing its aviators to either land on "Enterprise" or ditch in the ocean. Rear Admiral George D. Murray ordered the heavy cruiser to tow "Hornet" clear of the action. Since the Japanese planes were attacking "Enterprise", this allowed "Northampton" to tow "Hornet" at a speed of about . Repair crews were on the verge of restoring power when another flight of nine "Kate" torpedo planes attacked. Eight of these aircraft were