A Beckenham man was shocked to find what he believes to be the world’s most poisonous spider in a bunch of bananas he had bought from a supermarket. The taxi driver saw the creepy-crawly creature when he was about to have a banana with his morning porridge.
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Stay Out of the Kitchen
Upon closer look, Joe Stein, 37, realized the ‘dark mass’ he saw hanging from the fruit was actually a spider. Being an arachnophobe, he immediately trashed the bunch of bananas while warning his girlfriend to stay out of the kitchen.
Once his fear was abated a bit, he re-examined the minibeast only to find out it was most likely a Brazilian wandering spider, whose bite can be deadly to humans. He said:
I sort of had to refocus my eyes so I could see his big bony, hairy legs. It was a bit shocking! Obviously I was shocked, my girlfriend was a bit shocked, finding out it was a venomous spider if alive. Luckily I think it was dead, but it was enough to make us both jump and feel on edge. I want to make people aware and to be careful.
The taxi driver had bought the Colombian-grown bunch of bananas from the Sainsbury’s in West Wickham on Monday. After spending some time investigating on Google, Stein said he is very sure the spider was a Brazilian Wandering Spider.
I saw a few pictures, it looked identical; the big hairy legs, the big abdomen with the little humps coming out and a black line. I was a bit shocked to find out it’s one of the most venomous and dangerous spiders in the world.
Dangerous Banana Spider
The arthropod, scientifically known as Phoneutria fera, is commonly found in South America and likes to hang out on banana leaves or bunches, thus the name the banana spider.
The Guinness Book of World Records has named it the most venomous spider in the world for possessing the most active neurotoxic venom of any living spider. So toxic is their venom to the nervous system that they cause salivation, irregular heartbeat, among other symptoms.
After Stein contacted Sainbury’s, he was told to send the spider to them for further investigation. A spokesperson of the supermarket chain said:
We’re in touch with the customer to apologize for their experience. Incidents like this are extremely rare and we have processes in place to prevent them.
