Polistes dominulus is a well-studied paper wasp whose overwintered females are known to be philopatric. Prior to nest construction, spring foundresses often return to their natal nest site and perch on their natal nest. Recent evidence indicates that these females continue to recognize and discriminate in favor of the natal nest after landmark and gross morphological cues are removed. Because Polistes wasps recognize their nests, and because cuticular hydrocarbons facilitate nestmate discrimination, we hypothesize that natal nests retain colony-specific hydrocarbon cues from the previous year. To test this hypothesis, we obtained two hydrocarbon samples from 17 nests: one sample in the fall of 2003 and one sample in the spring of 2004. We analyzed these samples using gas chromatography. Despite novel hydrocarbon presence in both fall 2003 and spring 2004, we show that colonies retain more hydrocarbons than expected by chance (one sample sign test, p=0.0042). Our results raise the possibility that relatively stable and shared hydrocarbons are used by overwintered foundresses to recognize the natal nest.