Spiders in bananas
Beware of spots on store bananas, world’s deadliest spiders.
Spiders in bananas bought in supermarkets might not look like the world’s deadliest and most toxic spiders at first but only look like a tiny spot on the banana as a British woman shockingly discovered when she bit into the fruit. When 29-year-old Consi Taylor first noticed “a strange white spot” on one of the bananas that she had bought at a local supermarket, she thought it was mold or maybe some bruising on the banana, reported Sky News on Nov. 4, 2013.
To her shock, when Consi Taylor bit into her banana, the spots fell on the carpet and scurried off across the carpet as the world’s most deadliest spiders.
“I had a closer look and was horrified to see they were spiders. They were hatching out on the table, scurrying around on my carpet.”
Consi Taylor’s family was so terrified that they fled their home. Pest experts identified the creepy crawlies as lethal Brazilian Wandering Spiders — and ordered Consi Taylor, her husband Richard and their two young children, three-year-old Benjamin and four-month-old Annabel, to abandon their three-bedroom house in Hampton in south-west London until the home could be fumigated.
Brazilian Wandering Spiders, also known as “banana spiders,” are the deadliest and most toxic spiders and are usually found in tropical South America. The banana spiders can grow to have a leg span of 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) and a body length of 17 to 48 mm (0.67 to 1.9 in).
The name “banana spiders” or Brazilian Wandering Spiders comes from the spiders’ habit of wandering the jungle floor at night (instead of building a web) and hiding wherever they can, including banana bunches or banana plants.
In densely populated areas in South America, the “banana spiders” search for cover in dark places during the daytime including houses, clothes, cars, boots, boxes and log piles. When disturbed, they will bite and their venomous bite can lead to death within hours. Since “banana spiders” are well-known, an effective antivenom is available and few fatalities occur.
The Brazilian Wandering Spider tends to “wander” into other countries as a stowaway in shipments of bananas and thus appear in banana crates sent to grocery stores and bulk food centers around the world. If kept in the cool during transportation or in the store, they will most likely wait to hatch until it is nice and warm — in someone’s home.
In 2005, 23-year-old Matthew Stevens was attacked by the Brazilian Wandering Spider which was hidden in a box of bananas delivered to the Quantock Gateway pub in Bridgwater. Due to his quick thinking and sending a picture to experts, he received the antivenom and after a week of treatment, he fully recovered from the bite.
Luckily for Consi Taylor, neither she, her husband, or her two young children were bitten by the banana spiders. However, from now on, she is leaving the banana shopping up to her husband and before touching any banana, she takes a very – very—very close look at them.
Info and picture source…..examiner.com