Where have all the wasps gone?

Hitchin Lavender Farm in Hertfordshire said it had noticed an “unusually low” number of wasps around the time they typically begin to build up.

It is the same for Norfolk Lavender, in Heacham, near King’s Lynn. A spokesperson said there would usually be lots of wasps flying around the restaurant tables, “but there has been a noticeable absence”.

Typically, the farm expects to find a couple of nests in the lavender fields each year but, so far, it has not found any.

Although pesky for visitors, wasps are accidental pollinators and play a valuable part in the pollination process.

And without wasps, the world could be overrun with spiders and insects, according to the Natural History Museum, external.

Each summer, wasps in the UK capture about 14 million kilogrammes of insects such as caterpillars and greenfly, making them important friends to gardeners.