[4][5] Vespula rufa is characterised by red-brown markings and body segmentation, with the appearance varying amongst the different roles of individuals in the species.

[4] This differs from typical Red Wasps, V. rufa, of the western Palearctic that have ivory rather than yellow markings.

[4] Eastern Palaearctic populations also have ivory markings and this form has been called V. rufa schrenckii.

[4] Due to the variability of the brownish markings, which can be seen from specimens throughout its range, V. intermedia has become equivalent to V. rufa schrenckii.

[7] There are various wasps within the ‘subspecies’ of V. rufa, including Vespula acadica, however they are now viewed as little more than colour forms rather than formal taxa, and the species is regarded as monotypic.

[4][7] Examples of locations with V. rufa include England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Russia, Turkey, Mongolia, and China.

Colony expansion continue rapidly, with thousands of workers being produced in a large nest in approximately a 9-week period.

[4] When the last larval stage is near its end, "the gut contents are evacuated to form the meconium at the bottom of the cell.

[8] Through evolution, mechanisms to encourage group effectiveness and minimise individual's selfish interests have evolved.

[8] Social policing is an important example in which "mutual enforcement limits the success of selfish individuals.

[8] With regard to conflict over who bears males, policing refers to the process in which individual workers are precluded from reproducing.

Two different approaches can be taken to achieve policing: worker-laid eggs can be eliminated or reproductive workers can be treated aggressively.

[8] Parasites of Vespula rufa include the beetle Metoecus paradoxus (a larval parasitoid and the fly Conops flavipes (an endoparasite).

[10] The amount of light present in the morning or evening is most critical element affecting wasp movement.

In the evening, light intensity plays a key role in determining the time that the last movements to and from the nest occur.

The amount of light required for the last sorties to return to the nest is 6.0 lux or 0.56 ft cs.

For comparison Vespa crabro (the European Hornet) has a much larger body and thus a greater eye length of 3.7mm enabling it to forage in moonlight at 0.2 lux.

"[10] Only when there are insufficient insects in the nest entrance can wasps passing in the opposite direction serve as releasers.

[10] This phenomenon of "social facilitation" means that V. rufa leave nests in clusters rather than in a continuous trickle.

[10] When a young worker leaves the nest for the first time, it will generally make 2 to 3 'orientation flights' in order to familiarise itself with the entrance to the colony amidst the surrounding landscape.

In the first flight, the worker flies approximately 25 cm out of the nest at once and then quickly turns around to face the entrance.

The wasp slowly flies back and forth to the nest several times, surveying an angle that is approximately 90 degrees, while facing the entrance.

Once 2 meters away, V. rufa will fly back and forth repeatedly in a figure-eight pattern, while facing the entrance to the nest.

At first, the worker may miss the entrance to the nest many times; however, after six to twelve trips, the wasp gains its bearings; flights become longer, and reentry into the colony becomes more precise.