Deadly spider in banana delivery

A MEMBER of staff at a health food store in Haute-Savoie had an unpleasant surprise - when he found a deadly banana spider in a delivery of fruit.

The 10cm arachnid had travelled undiscovered to eastern France in a consignment of bananas from the Dominican Republic and was only discovered when the health store worker opened the delivery at the store in Passy on Saturday, newspaper Le Dauphiné reports.

Banana spiders are among the most aggressive in the world. A single bite can kill a fully grown adult, as its venom is 30 times more toxic than a rattlesnake.

Le Dauphiné said that the employee was able to trap the spider before alerting the authorities. A vet safely collected the animal, the paper said.

In March, members of a British family were forced out of their home after they unwittingly brought a pregnant banana spider home in a bunch of the fruit. It escaped and gave birth to its young in the house, forcing the owners out for three days while it was fumigated.

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