text: With a sting like a hot nail being hammered into the body, Asian hornets have killed at least six people in France. Now experts fear millions of them could be heading for Britain – and the threats they pose are to be discussed at a summit meeting by beekeepers. This is because the two-inch-long Asian hornets pose a terrible danger to our honeybees. They pick off bees as they leave their hive until the colony is so exhausted the hornets can move in and ransack it. Scroll down for video . Sting in the tail? Experts fear millions of two-inch-long Asian hornets (above) could be heading to Britain after leaving six people dead and terrorising wildlife in France . The hornet is thought to have travelled to France on some Chinese pot plants in 2004. It has colonised huge swathes of the country and, with a few hornets capable of destroying 30,000 bees in just a couple of hours, honey production has plummeted. The Norfolk Beekeepers' Association will hold its Bee Health Seminar at Easton and Otley College on May 23, organised in conjunction with the National Bee Unit, which delivers the Bee Health Programmes on behalf of Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Topics under discussion will also highly infectious diseases which threaten bee colonies such as European and American foulbrood. Carolyne Liston, chairman of the Norfolk Beekeepers' Association, warned Asian hornets are a 'very, very aggressive predator' and said they could 'come here on the wind'. She said: 'They can absolutely decimate colonies and we are concerned that it is going to come in on someone's caravan who has been travelling in France.' UK beekeepers have been sent email alerts by Defra asking them to be on the look-out for the menaces. Danger: The threats posed by Asian hornets are to be discussed at a summit meeting by beekeepers, while UK beekeepers have been sent email alerts by Defra asking them to be on the look-out . The Asian hornet can measure up to  2in long with a 3in wingspan – slightly smaller than the European hornet but much more aggressive. One Asian hornet can kill 40 bees in a minute, while a handful can destroy a hive of 30,000 bees in a couple of hours. They build rugby ball-shaped nests in trees, housing some 500 hornets. They scare off intruders by sending a lone worker hornet to 'warn' them – if that fails, the workers attack en masse. Worker hornets have lifespans of 30-55 days. Asian hornets have a black head with an orange-yellow face and bright yellow leg tips, while the European hornet has a copper coloured head with a bright-yellow face and entirely reddish-brown legs. They have been urged not to approach nests, which they say hornets make in tall trees or in garages and sheds. If Asian hornets are spotted here, the National Bee Unit will send out experts from the Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency to kill them using special chemicals. Ministers drew up battle plans in case killer Asian hornets are discovered in Britain last year. A law announced in the Queen's Speech gave officials powers to enter private land and destroy new invasive species within days. Groups of Asian hornets hover in front of a beehive, picking off single honeybees, decapitating them and stripping off their wings and legs before making off with the 'meat ball' to feed their young. In Asia, honeybees have learned to encircle an intruder hornet and, by flapping their wings, cause it to overheat and die. But the French bees have not had enough time to evolve an effective tactic. The hornet sting can be extremely painful to humans but, like bee stings, it is likely to kill only if the victim has a severe allergic reaction. The victims in France died from anaphylactic shock after being stung. Last night, a Defra spokesman confirmed there had been no sightings of Asian hornets in the UK so far.
target: Millions of Asian hornets have colonised swathes of French countryside .
  Vicious insects mutilate honeybees and prey on beehives to feed young .
  Six people have died in France after suffering allergic reactions to sting .
  Ministers in Britain have drawn up battle plans for any possible invasion .