UPDATE Most Venomous Spider in the World Found in Supermarket Bananas

DiamondSmiles · #1 ● 11-05-2013, 05:51 AM

November 5, 2013

Consi Taylor was halfway through a banana when she saw a white spot on the skin, which she thought was a patch of mold.

That thought is gross enough, but then the, "spot," burst open and baby spiders started scurrying across the fruit, (and here's where we threw up in our mouths a little).

The British woman told the staff at Sainsbury's supermarket about their spider-infested offerings and they gave her a $15 coupon. But when she sent a picture of the spiders to a pest-control company, things got REALLY scary.

Taylor was told that those unwanted little nasties could be Brazilian Wandering Spiders, which have been called the most venomous spiders in the world.

Brazilian wandering spiders are native to south and central America.

According to SKY News, those particular arachnids can be, "extremely aggressive," and a bite from them can "trigger loss of muscle control, breathing problems, paralysis and eventual asphyxiation." Sainsbury's not only apologized to the family, but put them up in a hotel and paid for their entire home to be fumigated.

So, apples are pretty great this time of year, huh?

Brazilian Wandering Spider © Apex Photo Agency/Rex Features)

Thanks to Darkest Angel for the sac photo

(Image credit: Lee Thompson/The Sun)

Another take here, also from Darkest Angel:

**Potentially Deadly Spiders Found in Supermarket Banana**

By William Denselow
ABC News

November 5, 2013

Consi Taylor initially thought the swath of spiders was mold.

A British family was forced to flee its London home after dozens of apparently deadly spiders sprouted from a banana bought from a local supermarket.

Consi Taylor, 29, was halfway through eating a banana when she noticed that the small white patch on the piece of fruit was not mold but something far more alarming.

“I had a closer look and was horrified to see they were spiders,” Taylor told The Sun newspaper. “They were hatching out on the table, scurrying around on my carpet.”

Taylor took a picture of the spiders and sent it to her local pest control company for guidance.

It said the tiny critters could be Brazilian wandering spiders, a species that, Guinness World Records designated the world’s most venomous spider in 2010.

The Taylors evacuated their home and had it fumigated, according to The Sun.

Steven Falk, an entomologist with the invertebrate conservation trust Buglife, said that even if the spiders had been the venomous wandering spider, the babies didn’t pose a real threat to humans.

“The truth is often very mundane,” Falk told ABC News, adding that “a baby spider doesn’t have big enough jaws to bite you.”

Stuart Hine, manager of identification and advisory service at the National History Museum in London, went further, telling ABC News that fumigation was “wholly unnecessary,” as, even in their natural environment, only one in 500 spiderlings make it to adulthood.

Sainsbury’s, the supermarket that sold the bananas, initially gave the Taylor’s a £10 ($16) gift card but said this was only an “initial act of good will.” It has now given the Taylors “a substantial cash sum,” according to a statement.

Having subsequently hired its own spider expert, Sainsbury’s said the arachnids were “likely to be a foliage spider or Cheiracanthium,” adding that “all forms of wandering spider are unlikely to survive in this country [the U.K.], either inside or outside, due to their need for warmth and humidity.

“We’re very sorry and have apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor,” the store wrote. “We do have rigorous controls on imported products at all stages – from harvesting to transportation — which is why this is so rare.”