[3] Along with their subfamily, Vespinae, this species demonstrates supportive parental care for offspring, separation of reproductive and sterile castes, and overlapping generations.

As a result, the species participates in cooperative brood care and division between reproductive and nonreproductive groups.

[5] V. maculifrons can be differentiated from other wasp species due to its smaller size and abdominal pattern.

[3] The most recognizable features of V. maculifrons are the black and yellow lines on the head, thorax, and abdomen.

A V. maculifrons nest can range from 94–300 mm (3.7–11.8 in) in diameter, allowing for hundreds to thousands of workers inside.

By chewing wood and adding in saliva to make a quick-drying pulp, these wasps assemble paper nests.

The first part of the nest constructed is the stalk, which eventually narrows into a cord and then expands again to make the first hexagonal cell.

[7] Due to the seasonal differences, the northern cycle is typically shorter than in the south, resulting in smaller nest sizes.

[5] A queen, which mated earlier in the year and spent the winter in diapause, founds a colony by raising the first group of workers.

[12] Until the first offspring emerge as adults, the lone queen lays eggs, forages for food, cares for the young, and defends the nest.

For V. maculifrons workers to communicate with others in the nest about a potential predator, they have an alarm pheromone that stimulates defense.

When the alarm pheromone is expressed, wasps around the nest entrance are typically seen circling, outlining a zigzagging flight, and going directly towards the target.

[15] In one area, hundreds to thousands of males patrol prominent trees and bushes by constantly flying around them.

Males frequently groom their legs, antennae, and gasters throughout courtship, mating, and after contact with a queen.

At the end of copulation, a queen is able to produce an olfactory or contact pheromone to signal release to the male.

The queen also begins to nibble the dorsal surface of the male's gaster to further signal the end of copulation.

Male having strong genitalic locks for mating is also advantageous, due to male-male competition, but can cause problems during disengagement.

In the laboratory, both females and males have died during disengagement, sometimes leaving reproductive ends attached to the opposite sex.

However, the hydrocarbons on the surface of cuticular lipids can also serve in identifying the individual's species, and more importantly, kin.

[2] Similar wasp species illustrate workers that help their own kin or harm nonrelatives from growing as a gyne.

[3] At this point, the queens undergo diapause, which is a dormancy period to avoid the adverse environmental conditions of winter.

[21] Workers dedicated to foraging are capable of olfactory learning, allowing them to distinguish odors specific to food.

[20] Workers use this ability to scavenge for dead insects such as earwigs and fall webworm larvae, as well as live arthropods.

However, honeydew is susceptible to fermentation, causing individuals that feed on it to become inebriated and unable to fly or walk.

V. maculifrons has many predators; most are mammals much larger than the wasps, such as raccoons, black bears, and skunks.

[5] Predation of V. maculifrons may occur over other wasp species due to the shallow depths and fragile envelopes of their nests.

Eastern yellow jackets destroy many insects that consume cultivated and ornamental plants, providing a valuable service to humans.