Spider Was Nearly a Sick Snack
An asda shopper got more than she bargained for with her bags of
grapes when she almost ate what is believed to be a venomous African
spider.
Judith Smith was horrified to discover the brown fanged spider, along
with dozens of tiny eggs, as she snacked on grapes at her desk in
Tamar Science Park.
Insect expert Peter Smithers, from the University of Plymouth,
identified the arachnid from pictures as a sac spider.
He said it can give a small bite, although unlikely to, and probably
came from Namibia, where the fruit was packed.
Judith, who works as an administrator for the National Blood Service,
bought the grapes from the Estover Asda store on her way to work on
Wednesday. The 32 year old, from Plympton, said she was about to put
one in her mouth when she felt that "something there that wasn't
right". "I stuck my finger through a white sack cocoon-type thing. I
kind of flipped when I saw it," she said. "I had washed the grapes and
I was just sitting eating at my desk. It was disgusting."
She said her colleague Denver Baxter-Smith "came to the rescue,"
taking the grapes away from her and placing them, and the spider, in a
plastic container. He also took some digital pictures. Judith said
Asda sent someone to collect the spider, which was alive, within 15
minutes.
An Asda spokesman said: "We wash all our grapes before they reach our
stores but very occasionally insects like spiders hitch a ride. We
have taken the spider for testing and will come back to the customer
with the results.
"At this time, we only know that it is a spider and not the specific
variety. We have already apologised to the customer concerned."
Entomologist Peter Smithers, on examining the pictures, told The
Herald Judith would have been unlucky to have been bitten by the
spider, which would have left a mark like a small graze. He said: "The
spider is one of the sac spiders, a member of the family Clubionidea
also known as foliage spiders as they tend to hunt in the vegetation
rather than on the ground."
The Natural History Museum website states exotic sac spiders are
"frequently associated with imported grapes."
This is Plymouth: 12th March 2008
