The life cycle of wasps in the UK follows a clear seasonal pattern that begins in spring and ends with the first frosts of autumn.

In early spring (usually March–April), a queen wasp emerges from hibernation after spending the winter hidden in sheltered places such as roof spaces, sheds, tree bark, or soil.

She searches for a suitable nesting site and begins building a small paper nest by chewing wood fibres mixed with saliva.
At this stage the nest is only about the size of a golf ball or walnut and contains a few cells where the queen lays her first eggs.

Within 3–4 weeks, the first worker wasps emerge.

These workers take over the duties of expanding the nest, gathering food, and caring for the next generation of larvae.

From late spring through early summer (May–June) the nest grows steadily as the colony expands.

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By mid to late summer (July–August) the nest can become very large and busy.

A mature nest may contain 3,000–5,000 wasps, though some can grow even bigger in ideal conditions.

The nest itself may reach the size of a football or larger, often hidden in lofts, wall cavities, sheds, trees, or underground.

In late summer and early autumn, the colony produces new queens and male wasps. After mating, the new queens leave to find safe places to hibernate for the winter. As temperatures drop and food becomes scarce, the original colony begins to decline.

By late autumn, the workers, males, and the old queen die off, and the nest is never reused.

Each year the cycle begins again when the new queens emerge the following spring to start fresh nests of their own.