The wasps gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct nests that appear made out of gray or brown papery material.

[3] The wasps secrete an ant repellent chemical which they spread around the base of the petiole or anchor to prevent the loss of eggs or brood.

[4] Most social wasps of the family Vespidae make nests from paper, but some stenogastrine species, such as Liostenogaster flavolineata, use mud.

[5] Nests can be found in sheltered areas, such as the eaves of a house, the branches of a tree, on the end of an open pipe, or on an old clothesline.

[6] Three species of Polistes are obligate social parasites, and have lost the ability to build their own nests, and are sometimes referred to as "cuckoo paper wasps".

In the spring each searches for a suitable location and starts and maintains a new nest typically by herself until the first brood of female workers matures and helps in all activities except egg laying.

[9] Their territoriality can lead to attacks on people, and their stings are quite painful and – like all venomous animals – can produce a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction in some individuals.

With sufficient disturbance, the wasp will fly around the nest attempting to locate the source, chasing and stinging the threat.