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The costs associated with the production of aposematic coloration would ensure that individuals honestly indicate their toxicity levels. In the present study, we examine the hypothesis that a positive correlation exists between the brightness of warning coloration and toxicity level using as a model the paper wasp (<jats:italic>Polistes dominula<\/jats:italic>).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>We collected wasps from 30 different nests and photographed them to measure the brightness of warning coloration in the abdomen. We also measured the volume of the poison gland, as well as the length, and the width of the abdomen. The results show a positive relationship between brightness and poison-gland size, which remained positive even after controlling for the body size and abdomen width.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>The results suggest that the coloration pattern of these wasps is a true sign of toxicity level: wasps with brighter colors are more poisonous (they have larger poison glands).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/1742-9994-9-20","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2012,8,20]],"date-time":"2012-08-20T06:13:52Z","timestamp":1345443232000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":36,"title":["Brighter-colored paper wasps (Polistes dominula) have larger poison glands"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"J Manuel","family":"Vidal-Cordero","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gregorio","family":"Moreno-Rueda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"L\u00f3pez-Orta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carlos","family":"Marfil-Daza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9 L","family":"Ros-Santaella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"F Javier","family":"Ortiz-S\u00e1nchez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"198_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"201","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.ecolsys.30.1.201","volume":"30","author":"J Mallet","year":"1999","unstructured":"Mallet J, Joron M: Evolution of diversity in warning color and mimicry: polymorphisms, shifting balance, and speciation. 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