Native to Brazil and Argentina, S. cyanea is one of the largest and most aggressive species of social wasps and is feared in many rural areas.

[2] Throughout its life, S. cyanea forage sugary substances and animal carcasses for food and wood pulp for its nest.

The genus Synoeca is a part of the paper wasp tribe Epiponini and consists of five species (S. chalibea, S. virginea, S. septentrionalis, S. surinama, and S. cyanea).

[1] While other species in the genus Synoeca do not demonstrate caste differences, S. cyanea sometimes shows differentiation between the size of workers and the queen.

[2] S. cyanea composes its nest out of a single comb with the cells directly attached to a tree.

[3] While the genus Synoeca is found from Mexico to Argentina, S. cyanea is native to almost the whole country of Brazil.

[2] Foraging activity for the swarm-founding wasp S. cyanea begins early in the morning and stops in the evening.

In addition to temperature, S. cyanea increase their activity with decreased levels of humidity and heightened intensities of light.

Young females in the colony can develop ovaries at different points in the cycle, so castes must be determined by the adult wasps rather than at the larval stage.

When queen repopulation is not needed, worker policing helps to prevent female egg-layers through egg-eating and aggressive behaviors.

In mice, abdominal spasms, ataxia, defecation, dyspnoea, hyperactivity, hypoactivity, sweating, and throes were observed following venom injection.

Since S. cyanea may obtain many nutrients from these fruit trees, researchers have observed the predatory nature of these wasps on Z. indianus.

When S. cyanea detect the fruit fly larvae, they soften, remove, and transport them back to the colony.

For this reason, many fruit farmers consider S. cyanea a prospective candidate for use in pest management.