Horror stories about highly poisonous spiders found in supermarket bananas have been circulating on the Internet for many years. Such reports also occasionally appear in newspapers. What's wrong with the banana spider? And does she really lay her eggs in bananas?
Does the banana spider lay eggs in bananas?
Occasionally you can find obviously egg-shaped spots on bananas. These bumps are often rounded to bean-shaped, dark in color and have a downy surface. However, these are mostlypupated butterfly caterpillarsSpider coconuts are white and can only be foundvery rarely on supermarket bananas.
Are there even banana spiders?
In fact, “the” banana spider does not exist, instead there aredifferent speciesThese are mostly harmless. The only spider that is potentially dangerous to humans is theBrazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer), which, however, is extremely rare here due to the fact that Brazil only exports a small number of bananas to Europeappears - especially since the animals hardly survive transport and storage while bananas are ripening. Although many species of spiders can lay their eggs in bananas, the clutch usually does not survive the transport and maturation process.
How often do spiders sit in bananas?
In Germany, live banana spiders and their eggs are onlyreally rarely found alive. You may find a dead specimen - if they were not already collected during packing or in the banana ripening plant.
In their home countries, however, bananas are popularhiding places for many spiders, as they lie in wait here and can hardly be discovered by their victims. Spiders themselves don't eat bananas; after all, they are carnivorous hunters. Instead, many prey animals like the sweet fruits.
What should you do if there is a spider in your bananas?
Most of the time, the eggs on the banana don't hatch into large, dangerous spiders, but rathermany small onesThese can't bite yet and therefore can't be dangerous to you. If you are extremely unlucky and have actually bought a large specimen, it is best to catch it with a glass - simply put it over the spider - and call thefire departmentThey will take care of the animal if necessary Catch them and take them to the nearest zoo. However, you can kill spider eggs by heating the banana strongly and, for example,cooking
Tip
Why do some bananas have holes?
Sometimes holes and other damage can be found on bananas. These often come from transport or quality control, for example a temperature measurement. You don't have to fear spiders or spider eggs here, as these holes were not created in a natural environment.
