first a queen starts to build a nest. this depends on the weather. in north america this happens in spring. as the hornet that starts to build the nest, she is the architect of the nest's design. in the built space she will lay eggs. these hatch, and become larvae. the queen will feed the first larvae, until they make a cocoon. after transforming, they will become the first "workers". these will do most of the work. the workers will build a hierarchy amongst themselves.