Egg sack found in bunch of bananas that caused Warwickshire family to hole up in hotel did not belong to deadly Brazilian wandering spider, says supermarket

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Spider eggs discovered in a bunch of bananas, which it was feared belonged to one of the world’s deadliest arachnids, have been found to belong to a harmless species, according to the supermarket where the bananas were bought.

Keith Hobbs and wife Laura fled with their four children when told the egg sack probably belonged to Brazilian wandering spider, which can kill with its venomous bite and has legs up to 6in (15cm) long.

They found the cocoon at their home in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, on Thursday.



Keith Hobbs, 32, a deputy head teacher, told The Sun newspaper: “As soon as we knew what they were we just grabbed the kids, who were in their pyjamas, and ran out the house.

“We’ve spent the night in a hotel room. It’s terrifying – it’s like a bad dream.”

His parents-in-law bought them the bananas from an Aldi store in Hinckley, Leicestershire.



After Laura Hobbs opened the bag and found the nest, her husband called police and also contacted wildlife experts.

The Aldi shop was temporarily shut on Friday but reopened in the afternoon after no spiders were found.

Venom from the Brazilian wandering spider can kill a human in just two hours, with victims suffering nausea, hypothermia and convulsions.

Declared the most venomous spider in the world by the Guinness Book of Records, it is found in South and Central America. Its Greek name, Phoneutria, translates as “murderess”.

Rather than building a web to catch its prey, the spider hunts insects, small mammals and reptiles on the jungle floor.

An Aldi spokesman said: “The safety of our customers is our absolute no 1 priority and as such, the bananas in question were immediately removed from the store as a precautionary measure.

“Following independent expert analysis, we can confirm that the eggs in question were totally harmless and not from the Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria fera).

“Whilst our bananas are of the highest quality and delivered by one of the world’s largest suppliers, these incidents, whilst extremely rare, can occur and we apologise for the distress caused to Mr Hobbs and his family. The Watling Street store in Hinckley is now fully open to customers.”

• The previous image on this article was changed on 6 June 2015 after a reader pointed out that it was not, in fact, a Brazilian wandering spider.



