Recently, the cuticular labels of stingless bee species have been the focus of several investigations. The cuticle of stingless bees, as in other social insects, is a rich source of information that is important for the regulation of their society. described qualitative and quantitative differences in the chemical composition of cuticular lipids between males and workers of the stingless bee Frieseomelitta varia. Similar differences were described for young and old individuals of both sexes. Yet, fertile laying queens of this species presented a completely different composition in their cuticle compared to workers. The composition of cuticular hydrocarbons showed a strong correlation with behaviour in this species, suggesting a direct relationship between cuticular labels and
discriminatory behaviour. For F. varia, non-nestmates with similar cuticle labels to a foreign colony are more likely to be accepted into that foreign colony than individuals with divergent cuticular hydrocarbon composition.