Its diet is more diverse than those of most Polistes species—many genera of insects versus mainly caterpillars in other Polistes—giving it superior survivability compared to other wasp species during a shortage of resources.

[2] P. dominula is common and cosmopolitan due to their exceptional survival features such as productive colony cycle, short development time, and higher ability to endure predator attacks.

Its body is colored entirely yellow and black, similar to that of Vespula germanica, one of the most common and defensive wasps in its native range.

[9] The native range of P. dominula covers much of southern Europe and North Africa, and temperate parts of Asia as far east as China.

Global warming is speculated to have raised temperatures of certain areas, allowing P. dominula to expand to originally cooler regions.

[8] The first North American occurrence of P. dominula was reported in Massachusetts in the late 1970s,[13] and by 1995, this species had been documented throughout the northeastern USA.

Although detailed mechanisms of the species' dispersal are still unknown, some number of individuals, including the foundresses, may have hidden inside transportable items such as shipping crates, trailers, boats, or other human-made structures used during international trading between countries.

They also have the propensity to colonize nearby human civilizations because man-made structures can act as great shelters and also are located close to the resources such as food.

[15] Behavioral adaptations of P. dominula have allowed it to expand outside its native range and invade the United States and Canada.

While most Polistes species in the United States feed only on caterpillars, P. dominula eats many different types of insects.

[19] In the spring of 1995, one single founder colony of P. dominula was discovered nesting in the Polistes nestbox at the Oakland University Preserve in Rochester, Michigan.

[19] Introduced populations of P. dominula contain relatively high levels of genetic diversity and these variations are most likely due to different dispersal events.

[22] However, a different approach has been observed during the spring colony-founding phase of P. dominula in some areas of North America, where a large group of more than 80 wasps aggregated to reuse and expand an old nest.

[23] Such an unusual nesting method is thought to contribute to the extremely extensive spread of the P. dominula species in novel areas where it might otherwise be difficult for newcomer individuals to find conspecifics.

[24] Overwintering founding queens, or foundresses, spend about a month in the spring constructing a nest and provisioning offspring, the first of which become daughter workers in the growing colony.

The colony disperses in the late summer, with only males and future foundresses produced instead of workers, and individuals frequently clustering in groups (called a hibernaculum) to overwinter.

The queen starts laying eggs in late March or early April, immediately after the "founding phase" of the newly built nest.

Some of the factors include productive colony cycle, short developmental time, aposematic coloration, a generalist diet, and the ability to colonize new environments.

[7] The precise reasons that P. dominula has such shorter brood development times are unknown, but a number of conjectures are offered.

Because these parasites normally attack the host nests just prior to worker emergence, it would be advantageous for P. dominula to have a shortened brood developmental time.

[16] One study in Europe found that the prey items brought back to nests by P. dominula colonies represented three insect orders[28] while in contrast, North American Polistes primarily only use caterpillars to feed their offspring.

dominula is a less attractive prey for birds mainly due to its aposematic coloration and the relatively strong attachment of the comb to the substrate – typically tree branches or man-made structures.

However, behavioral differentiation does occur,[33][34] with the role an individual female takes being determined by social interaction within the colony.

Typically, the alpha female dominates all other individuals of a colony, laying the majority of eggs and partaking in differential oophagy.

The alpha female devotes much of her time to social interaction, in comparison to subordinates that are much more involved in foraging and brood care.

[48] The CHC profiles of the dominant female exhibit a greater proportion of distinctive unsaturated alkenes of longer chain length compared to those of subordinates.

The size, location, and coloration of the spots also determine the males' hierarchy, mating success (being preferred/rejected by females) and victory in male-male competition.

The use of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) in recognizing nest mates and neighbors is a relatively well-known method for Hymenoptera, especially among Polistes.

[59] P. dominula nests have resident brood parasites and parasitoids, including predacious Lepidoptera larvae, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Strepsiptera.

The lightweight material used to construct the body of the UAV consists of fungal mycelium covered with bacterial cellulose sheets.