This summer is one of the worst we have had for wasps, pest controllers have said, because of the hot weather. The worst wasp behaviour is yet to come, according to experts, with a warm autumn expected, which will cause a longer lifespan for the stinging creatures.

By that time, the queens will be back in hibernation, so the worker wasps will have no purpose and spend the weeks in desperate search of sugar, invading pub gardens and al fresco dinners.

Natalie Bongay, technical officer at the British Pest Control Association said pest controllers across the country are having to destroy up to 15 wasp nests a day.

She told The Telegraph: "Every pest controller I see, they say 'wow there's a lot of wasp nests' - last year they were doing 1 or 2 a day and this year they're doing between 8 and 15.

"All insects will thrive a lot more efficiently in weather like this because it speeds up their metabolism and egg production. Berries, their food source, are also more abundant.

"Wasps tend to die off when the first frost hits. But if we're not going to get those frosts as quickly they'll possibly even grow in size and breed more."