Polistes gallicus is a species of paper wasp found in various parts of Europe, excluding England, Denmark, and Scandinavia, from warmer climates to cooler regions north of the Alps.

The Polistes species use an oral secretion to construct their nests, which consist of a combination of saliva and chewed plant fibers.

The apical half of the antennae is entirely orange-yellow, and the final segment is slightly under twice as long as wide.

[4] P. gallicus is a member of the family Vespidae, further classified under the Polistinae (the second-largest of the subfamilies), which consists of various social wasps.

[4] Additionally, many published studies for which no vouchered reference specimens are available cannot be reliably assigned to either species.

[7] The former synonyms, P. foederatus and P. mongolicus, were restored from synonymy following revision of the genus in 2017 and are considered as distinct species again.

It can be found from northern Italy and southern Switzerland south into northwest Africa and east to Croatia and Corfu.

In cooler regions north of the Alps, its nests are often built in more protective enclosures such as in pipes or metal scraps.

[11] 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.

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.

[12] 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.

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.

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.

When the original foundress dies, some workers may begin laying unfertilized eggs which, if they manage to develop, will be males.

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.

The wasp is omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flower's nectar, insects, snails, or larger animals' corpses.

Dominant females tend to have more developed ovaries due to higher activity levels in their endocrine systems.

These VVS deposits on the nest may additionally indicate ownership to the queen and can inhibit ovarian development in the workers within the colony to prevent competition.

Fisher's theory of equal investment supports that a colony with a 50:50 sex ratio is the most beneficial due to both males and females having the same expected reproductive success.

Indirect evidence also supports the occurrence matricide within colonies, and queen death is noted to be high in P.

[19] Knowing venom chemistry from these species of wasps can lead to human advantages for pharmaceuticals.

The chemical breakdown of venom allows for synthesis in immunology therapy due to the creation of more reliable and effective treatments for people with allergies.

Studies which analyzed the way venom interacts with victims provided a mechanism for drugs to permeate cell membranes.

Further studies on wasps could provide a mechanism to control overpopulation through the creation of artificial sex attractants.

P. gallicus venom was found to be a combination of four major allergens: Ag5 (antigen 5), hyaluronidase, phospholipase, and protease.