male red paper wasps, "polistes canadensis", engage in the role of the patroller as an alternative mating tactic to the role of the territorial male (who chases away intruders). patrollers have a smaller body size than territorial males. there is significant competition over the possession of territories. although these territories do not necessarily hold any resources or nesting sites, owning a territory tends to lead to a greater number of mating opportunities. males attract females to these territories by rubbing their abdomens across the territories to apply pheromones. because of their inability to successfully compete against the larger territorial males for territories, smaller males resort to patrolling. but patrollers do not just wait around for territories to be vacated; they will sneak matings with females in territories when the territorial males are temporarily away or distracted.