with a size 13 mm for workers and 18 mm for queens the German wasp is probably the most common of the social wasps in France but there is very little visual difference between them and the Common wasp, Vespula vulgaris.

In most cases the face of the German wasp has one to three small black dots on a yellow background, while the common wasp has a vertical black pattern in the shape of an anchor. Other differences are not so clearly to be seen.

than species of Dolichovespula. Overwintered queens start searching for nest sites in mid-March. Workers are present from early May to mid-November, and new "autumn" queens leave the nest in September and October. Males are on the wing from mid-August to mid-November (Edwards 1980). A few colonies occasionally overwinter in warmer parts of the country persisting to early spring.

Nests are usually underground using and adapting existing tunnels and cavities, hollows in walls or in attics, sheds etc. Nests can become quite large with up to 7,000 wasps in residence.

“meat” in the various forms is taken as a source of protein principally to feed the larvae and “sugars” from various sources are used as energy food for adults.. In the case of the German wasp this is diverse and they are known to eat carrion, live insects including caterpillars and spiders, fruit, honeydew and processed human food and garbage. They are opportunistic scavengers and hunters able to obtain food from a variety of different sources. For example, many Vespula species have been observed feeding on dead honey bees (Apis mellifera) that are found outside the bee colony entrance. They will sometimes try and enter bee hives and may try to rob a hive in large numbers although it's unclear how often this occurs and has never been my personal experience as a beekeeper.