The subspecies P. chinensis antennalis is an invasive species in New Zealand,[2] having arrived in 1979,[3] and more recently Australia [4].

Two subspecies are known:[7] The Asian paper wasp has a slender body about 13 to 25 mm (0.51 to 0.98 in) in length.

[9] The Asian paper wasp frequently constructs nests on man-made structures including houses and buildings.

P. chinensis prefers to colonize urban habitats, but nests have also been recorded near forest clearings.

[8] Large populations usually develop in warm, lowland areas with open habitat such as shrublands, swamps and meadows.

[10] At least two independent invasion events, linked to Kanto and Kyushu, Japan, have been proposed as sources of the New Zealand wasps.

[12] The Asian paper wasp was first recorded in New Zealand in 1979, in Kohimarama and the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.

[13] An overwintered female, who has been inseminated during the previous autumn, emerges during the spring and begins nest cell construction and egg laying.

[14] Food collection is very costly to the foundress of a colony and carries a high risk of mortality.

[16] Foraging by a lone foundress has a high cost of predation risk for both herself and her brood.

Rather than increase foraging time, P. chinensis will cannibalize their own larvae when there is not enough honey or prey available during the solitary stage of colony development.

[17] The foundress targets larvae of different developmental stages depending on whether prey or honey is the limiting resource.

It is important that the queen successfully rear the first set of brood because she has a high risk of mortality while maintaining the nest on her own.

When larvae do not consume honey, they no longer produce saliva, which is an important nutrient resource for the adult wasp.

Foundresses use the loss of a larva as a cue to assess predation risk, and increase their defense efforts in response.

After 30 minutes following the removal of a larva, the time spent on the nest begins returning to the pre-removal level.

Like other species of eusocial wasp, males are haploid and emerge from unfertilized eggs.

Therefore, as nest size increases, competition for limited oviposition space becomes more intense, with workers destroying their nestmates eggs so they have room for their own.

[18] Larval saliva is an important nutrient resource for adult Asian paper wasps.