- Lifespan
- Workers 12–22 weeks; queens up to 12 months
- Size & Weight
- 10–14 mm long; no wingspan measurement as insects are measured by body length
- Habitat
- Gardens, parks, woodlands, and urban areas; nests in cavities such as roof spaces, wall cavities, and underground burrows
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout the UK, from southern England to Scotland; resident year-round with colonies active spring to autumn
- Diet
- Adults feed on sugary substances including nectar, fruit, and human food waste; larvae fed on insects and meat
- Prey
- Small insects, larvae, and carrion; also scavenges protein from human food
- Predators
- Badgers, hedgehogs, great spotted woodpeckers, and parasitic flies; also preyed upon by European hornet
- Mating Season
- August to October
- Breeding
- Queen lays eggs in hexagonal paper cells; worker brood develops in 12–14 days; colonies produce up to 5,000 individuals by late summer
- Behaviour
- Highly social insects living in colonies with a single queen and sterile female workers. Colonies are seasonal, collapsing in autumn with only new queens surviving winter to establish new colonies in spring. Known for aggressive defence of nests and attraction to human food and drink.