[5] The specific name honors Gustave, baron de Romand, a prominent French political figure and amateur entomologist.

Because swarm-founding colonies can contain more than one egg-laying queen, they tend to challenge current kin selection theory.

in that they do not meet William D. Hamilton’s rule of haplodiploid eusocial Hymenoptera, in which all the sisters from a single mating of one queen with a parthenogenetically-produced male will share 75% of their genes.

[1][2] Ropalidia romandi, first named by Élie Jean François Le Guillou in 1841,[7] is in the subfamily Polistinae.

[10] Ropalidia romandi is unique for its overall yellow color, with dark brown markings on its thorax and abdomen.

R. romandi's front wings fold lengthwise when resting, which is a common characteristic of paper wasps.

[5] The nest is either spherical or hemispherical in shape, can be up to one meter long, and is usually found in trees or eaves of buildings.

[12] R. romandi is a swarm-founding species, which means its colonies are founded by a swarm of workers associating with queens (fertilized females).

These energy stores make it possible for the wasps to not take any active flights for up to a week, which is beneficial because they avoid the cool temperatures and often rainy weather.

[9][12] During the absconding process, the workers, rather than the queen, choose the new nesting site, behaviour characteristic of independent founding species.

[9][14] During their search for a new nesting site, R. romandi workers have been observed to exhibit a behavior called ‘metasomal dragging’.

[9] This means that the wasp drags its metasome or gaster, the second abdominal segment and sections posterior to it, along objects on which it lands.

[9] Wasps that didn't exhibit metasomal dragging can often be seen inspecting objects with their antennae, presumably following the scent trail.

[9] Visual information may also be very important during the R. romandi absconding process,[9] and may even be the ultimate signal identifying the new nesting site.

If different colonies of R. romandi are introduced to each other during the absconding process, they will cluster together and relatively little violence is exhibited against non-nestmate queens at this stage.

[9] Because swarm-founding colonies can contain more than one egg-laying queen, they tend to challenge the kin selection theory and typically do not meet Hamilton's rule of haplodiploid species mentioned in the introduction.

These wasps are thought to be workers that become egg laying during swarming events, or they may be young uninseminated queens.

[20] Consisting of a papery envelope covering several horizontal combs, R. romandi nests are referred to as ‘paper bag nests’ [4] because they are made of plant fibers glued together with saliva to form a dry papery substance.

[5] The most noticeable difference is that R. romandi nests connected to branches are spherical rather than hemispherical and mostly double-layered, with only a few single-layered sections.

[5] The envelope is not a gray color, but instead a creamy brown, suggesting differences in the plants available to construct the nest.

The number of combs in a branch-built nest is almost double that of one built on a solid surface, however they are much more irregular in shape and arrangement.

[12] The best treatment of stings is to first wash the area with soap and water, then use an antiseptic, and if swelling remains apply an ice pack.

[12] Many people are allergic to wasp venom, and if this is the case, a sting can result in severe anaphylactic shock.

[11] If an individual exhibits any of these symptoms after acquiring a sting from R. romandi seek medical attention immediately.

[11] Attempting to knock them down will induce the aggressive behavior described above, and R. romandi tend to rebuild nests in similar spots.

[12] Additionally, paper wasps feed their young on caterpillars, so they can help eliminate common garden and agricultural pests.

[12] Additionally, they feed on the nectar of many flowering trees, including Syzygium cormiflorum and Acacia oraria.

[3] R. romandi shows another interesting activity in the winter: they are seen foraging for honeydew from scale insects.