Fertile foundress wasps come out of hibernation in the spring around mid May and build a new nest combining oral secretions with plant fibers, such as from sticks and bush branches, to make a paper pulp.
A nest will begin to be constructed by late May to early April.
Most nests are built by a single foundress, though in southern regions of Germany and Italy, two or more foundresses have been recorded building a cooperative nest.
Each cell is formed in a hexagonal structure and are attached to a surface by a single stalk.
The foundress will then lay a single egg directly in each brood cell.
After about 2 weeks, the eggs hatch into larvae and are fed chunks of caterpillars, developing through 5 instar stages before pupating by spinning a cocoon to enclose its cell.
Metamorphosis takes about 10 to 14 days before a mature adult wasp emerges.

This first brood of each season emerges around May to early June and is exclusively female workers that tend to the nest as subordinates to the foundress.
They help maintain the nest, tend to the brood by hunting, and defend the nest if it's threatened.
The foundress can now focus her time on laying eggs.
Beginning with the second brood, the larvae are able to be better fed by the early workers and emerge as bigger adults.
The nest continues to grow into the summer months as more cells are needed for the brood.
This summer brood takes a single month to msture.
The size of the nest can reach as many as 500 to over 1000 cells in optimum conditions such as sheltered, warmer locations, though they are still smaller than in allied species of Polistes.
Such nests may have hundreds of workers.

By around June to July, some of the eggs laid by the foundress are willingly unfertilized so, instead of developing into female workers will more quickly develop into males.
The females that emerge from around July to August, instead of contributing to the nest, instead store fat and develop their ovaries to become future foundresses.
With the next generation of foundresses developing, the nest tends to decline in activity.
When the original foundress dies, some workers may begin laying unfertilized eggs which, if they manage to develop, will be males.

The males that are produced congregate in unisexual clusters not far from the nest until November.
They then occasionally mate with the future foundresses from other nests.
As winter approaches, the workers and then the males die out, leaving only the newly fertilized foundresses to hibernate overwinter, in various shelters, until the following spring to begin a new colony cycle.
This can be as many as two dozen, or more, foundresses.
Fertile foundress wasps come out of hibernation in the spring around mid May and build a new nest combining oral secretions with plant fibers, such as from sticks and bush branches, to make a paper pulp. A nest will begin to be constructed by late May to early April. Most nests are built by a single foundress, though in southern regions of Germany and Italy, two or more foundresses have been recorded building a cooperative nest. Each cell is formed in a hexagonal structure and are attached to a surface by a single stalk. The foundress will then lay a single egg directly in each brood cell. After about 2 weeks, the eggs hatch into larvae and are fed chunks of caterpillars, developing through 5 instar stages before pupating by spinning a cocoon to enclose its cell. Metamorphosis takes about 10 to 14 days before a mature adult wasp emerges. 
This first brood of each season emerges around May to early June and is exclusively female workers that tend to the nest as subordinates to the foundress. They help maintain the nest, tend to the brood by hunting, and defend the nest if it's threatened. The foundress can now focus her time on laying eggs. Beginning with the second brood, the larvae are able to be better fed by the early workers and emerge as bigger adults. The nest continues to grow into the summer months as more cells are needed for the brood. This summer brood takes a single month to msture. The size of the nest can reach as many as 500 to over 1000 cells in optimum conditions such as sheltered, warmer locations, though they are still smaller than in allied species of Polistes. Such nests may have hundreds of workers. 
By around June to July, some of the eggs laid by the foundress are willingly unfertilized so, instead of developing into female workers will more quickly develop into males. The females that emerge from around July to August, instead of contributing to the nest, instead store fat and develop their ovaries to become future foundresses. With the next generation of foundresses developing, the nest tends to decline in activity. When the original foundress dies, some workers may begin laying unfertilized eggs which, if they manage to develop, will be males.
The males that are produced congregate in unisexual clusters not far from the nest until November. They then occasionally mate with the future foundresses from other nests. As winter approaches, the workers and then the males die out, leaving only the newly fertilized foundresses to hibernate overwinter, in various shelters, until the following spring to begin a new colony cycle. This can be as many as two dozen, or more, foundresses.
Polistes gallicus