Abstract. In this paper, we present and analyze a framework for selfevolving autonomic services in a wireless nomadic environment. We present a disconnected network architecture, where users mobility is exploited to achieve a scalable behaviour, and communication is based on localized peer-to-peer interactions among neighboring nodes. Service management is achieved by introducing autonomic services, whose operations are based on a distributed evolution process. The latter relies on the concept of mating, i.e., the exchange of information (e.g., code, parameters, data) among service users, which collaborate to enhance their fitness, defined as the ability of the actual service to fullfill the environmental features. The core of the evolution process is given by the service mating policy, which defines the way the running code should be modified when mating with other users. We introduce a general framework for analyzing service mating policies and exploit results from martingales t...