The Brazilian wandering spider – perhaps the world's most aggressive and venomous spider – is a rare visitor to these shores, but has recently been turning up in shipments of bananas, most recently in Colchester.
Such is their fearsome reputation that a woman who found its eggs in bananas she bought from Tesco on Monday had to incinerate her vacuum cleaner after using it to clean them up.
Abby Woodgate, 30, was told by pest control experts that she would have to burn anything that had come into contact with the spider eggs, as the arachnids are highly venomous. At deadly concentrations, their venom causes loss of muscle control and breathing problems, resulting in paralysis and eventual asphyxiation.
The Brazilian wandering spider has a tendency to hide in banana bunches or plantations and is occasionally found as a stowaway within shipments of bananas, hence its other name – banana spider.
Although its venom is highly toxic, it is being studied for use in erectile dysfunction treatments. The spider's bite can cause an erection that sometimes lasts for up to four hours.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ider-shopping/
I'm scared.
Nooo
