 Workers first emerge between May and July. During this first emergence, reproductive males also emerge with this first brood and are called the early males. These males provide a great adaptation because they allow for the presence of reproductive males. Nests with a greater number of early males produce a greater number of workers, cells, pupae, and emergences. Although it is uncertain as to why, queen deaths are common in Polistes exclamans, most frequently in May. The majority of original queens are dead by July, “ well before eggs that became autumn reproductive were laid, ” as reproductives emerged from late August through September. Thus, queens must remain alive post June in order to birth future reproductives, and if they are not able to do so, the eldest former worker then becomes the new queen. The reproductive early males produced may be adaptive for the deaths of the queens so that the colony will not die and will be able to continue.
