# daily mail gonna make people scared of buying bananas



## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

Mother finds deadly Brazilian spider's nest on banana | Mail Online


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## Iulia (Mar 2, 2011)

the gutter press are going into one about spiders at the mo, aren't they?

and when we are overrun with other insects next summer cos the people who read that trash have killed all the spiders they can see, the tabloids can run stories on plague of locusts etc 

I don't buy newspapers as toilet paper is quite cheap these days .........


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## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

This is not an uncommon occurrence, in the last few years at least four people have been bitten by _Phoneutria_ concealed in banana imports. However, _Phoneutria_ are not the real problem is _Loxosceles_ and _Latrodectu_s, but are frequently imported in produces and are capable of establishing in the UK…….!!


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## Iulia (Mar 2, 2011)

I remember venomous spiders in banana crate stories when I was a kid!!!!


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I read the story this morning so was able to put my teenage step daughter right when she came home from school saying that the supermarkets are over run with deadly spiders and not to go.


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2013)

At least they used a few facts. Not like the recent "deadly" false widow crap. I'm not convinced it is Phoneutria. But just like everything else in this world rather than potting a few up and grow them on to see what they were, they killed them all. Unfortunately Phoneutria is the one with the common name 'banana spider' and it's the one you'd least want to run into. So it seems everything that comes in on bananas is now regarded as Phoneutria.

Why do I never find cool things like this on bananas?


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## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

ImBatman said:


> At least they used a few facts. Not like the recent "deadly" false widow crap. I'm not convinced it is Phoneutria. But just like everything else in this world rather than potting a few up and grow them on to see what they were, they killed them all. Unfortunately Phoneutria is the one with the common name 'banana spider' and it's the one you'd least want to run into. So it seems everything that comes in on bananas is now regarded as Phoneutria.
> 
> Why do I never find cool things like this on bananas?


The most commonly imported of the larger spiders is _Cupiennius,_ which look remarkably similar to _Phoneutria_ and is most likely the spider involved in this incident. However, _Phoneutria_ are also seen in banana imports. Without a positive identification I would be wise to take a precautionary approach. 

You would be amazed at just what does come in with bananas……!!


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## HowseR21 (Nov 5, 2011)

I used to work in morrisons on the produce aisle. Spent most of my working hours in the banana room and came across a several "little" hitchhikers over the 2 years I was there.

A few spiders, a random beetle and a small lizard. Dont know the species sorry but either way it happens all the time and it's nothing to panic about : victory:


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2013)

Chris Newman said:


> The most commonly imported of the larger spiders is _Cupiennius,_ which look remarkably similar to _Phoneutria_ and is most likely the spider involved in this incident. However, _Phoneutria_ are also seen in banana imports. Without a positive identification I would be wise to take a precautionary approach.
> 
> You would be amazed at just what does come in with bananas……!!


Aye, I've kept both over the years. Both very similar in behaviour, except the dodgy one seems to know it's own threat levels and isn't afraid to display them at any given opportunity! Where as the Cupiennius are more inclined to run away. So one comes at you, while the other runs from you. Both at great speeds!


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## mikeyb (May 8, 2011)

Sod that i bet there central heatings gonna be kept off this winter just in case any of them do survive. just on a curious note is there anything u could keep as a pet like a tokay gecko or something that would prey on these even as adults or are they top of there food chain??? ... in cornwall i regularly get falsies and segestria florentina. the first ones im an arachnophobe and ive been bitten by one of the little b*st:censor: that got caught in my jumper and it just itched but it looked like id been punched in the back 3 times where she got me. so as the saying goes once bitten twice shy they tend to get nailed (plus theres small kids about) where as florentina remind me of T's ive only had one get agressive with me the rest are pretty chilled out and its funny as local pub wall they live in when ur all sat in the beer garden is coaxing one out with a straw then putting it on the table and watching everyone run. its odd the big ones dont bother me its the fat little ones that do but im the same with wasp's and hornet's id happily smash them but a bee id risk getting stung to get it out


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## pythondave82 (Nov 14, 2007)

As Wolfgang Wuster pointed out, most bananas are imported from Africa these days, and, how many people can identify a _Phoneutria_ sling...?

Chances are that on this occasion the species in question were not _Phoneutria_.

Dave


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