Posted: March 17, 2009 09:48 PM
Updated: March 18, 2009 06:25 PM
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| An employee at Whole Foods Market found a Brazilian Wandering Spider wandering around in their produce section. | ||||||||
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| Apparently the spider, also known as the banana spider, hitched a ride on some bunches of bananas all the way from Honduras. | ||||||||
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| The spider will not stay at TU for long. It will likely be taken to another university for research. | ||||||||
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By Jennifer Loren, The News On 6
TULSA, OK -- The world's deadliest spider found in a Tulsa grocery store. An employee at Whole Foods Market at 1401 East 41st Street found a Brazilian Wandering Spider wandering around in their produce section.
The store handed the spider over to biologists at the University of Tulsa who say that employee is lucky to be alive.
Terry Childs is the director of TU's Animal Facilities and a self-proclaimed spider lover. He has a scary-looking but harmless friend Cuddles the tarantula. He is harmless, unless you're an insect.
"The venom starts to break the prey down on the inside and then she slurps it out kind of like a smoothie," said Terry Childs.
Childs' department is now home to a Brazilian Wandering Spider. It's being kept in a terrarium with a do not disturb sign. More people die from the spider's bite than any other spider in the world.
"Within minutes you will have breathing problems, you'll start to lose control of your muscles, you'll start to drool and within 20 to 25 minutes you'll probably collapse on the floor and die of asphyxiation," said Terry Childs.
And, that's why he says people at Tulsa's Whole Foods market are lucky to be alive.
On Sunday an employee found the spider wandering across the bananas in the produce section.
"She managed to capture it in one of these containers until I got there," said Terry Childs.
Apparently the spider, also known as a banana spider, hitched a ride on some bunches of bananas all the way from Honduras. It turns out it is the kind of thing that happens all the time, but this particular spider is more threatening than most.
"This particular one happens to be one of the most aggressive ones I've actually come across. This thing will actually jump at you," said Terry Childs.
A manager at Whole Foods wouldn't talk on camera but said they check their produce for spider and insects. In fact, he said, that's how the world's deadliest spider was found in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"There is an antidote for the bite of this spider. Unfortunately I don't think we have any around here," said Terry Childs with the University of Tulsa.
The spider will not stay at TU for long. It will likely be taken to another university for research.
16 comments:
Now who when they see a spider captures it in a plastic container and calls a biologist?
My island honed instincts would have compelled me to smash the thing flatter than piss on a plate.
They oughta just stomp on the thing. Research what? They seem to know everything about it already.The only good spiders a smooshed spider.
The last large eight legged thing I saw in my house was instantly flattened! I saw a little furry thing on the floor that should not have been there. I walked over to inspect it, to see what it was? It instantaneously stood up, expanding it's size at least 10 fold. Freaked me out bad! Out of instinct I fought back by stepping on it. After I flattened it, it was the size of a pancake. When I was cleaning up the remains, I noticed the spider was so large, and it even had hair (fur).
We have a spider called a "hobo spider". It is an aggressive spider. Kind like the "Brown recluse". Well the bite has the same affect. One of the guys I work with was bitten and it took almost 6 months to heal, with many doctor visits. Any way, you asked,"who would capture it in a plastic bottle"? Well my wife. When we heard about the Hobo spider, we started looking around the house. We always had one at the foot of the stairs, but could catch it. So the wife took a Mason jar (glass) and caught one that was crawling on the wall. It would actually jump off the wall and hit the bottom of the jar. Jill was scared to move the jar away from the wall. Later when we found out we did have them, I took wasp spray and shot the one at the foot of the stairs. It made it half way across the floor before it died. We now have a cat, and very few Hobo's in the house. We do find them every now and again.
The only good spider is a dead spider. Remember having to walk through the boonies waving a stick in front of your face? Yee gads, I hated walking into a spiders web.
I once had a black widow spider for a pet. I found it in the garage and put it in a pickle jar. I would feed it a cricket about once a week. Coolest pet I ever had but it started to creep me out after awhile (kids in the house). Can't remember if I killed it or let it go.
Years ago I lived in a house with two other guys. One of them worked for a tree trimming company and one day he comes home with this rattle snake that they caught.
So we put said rattler in an old aquarium that was laying around and we were now proud owners of what we figured was a pygmy rattler.
Every several days or so you'd feed him a little white mouse that you could buy at the pet shop.
One day Mr. Rattler just up and disappeared. I have no idea how he got out of that aquarium but he did.
So we're like freaking out because now there's this rattle snake loose somewhere in the house.
We did a room by room search. Taking turns looking under fridge, stove, beds, furniture, cabinets, closets. You talk about taking some kind of nerve to poke your nose under a bed where some rattle snake could be hiding.
For days after that you're like looking real careful in your bed before you climb in. Good times.
We never did find that snake.
Only a soldier could relate to this. We called them Jake No Shoes. Because when you used to go on FTX's(field training execises)they always give the briefings before you rolled out of the motor pool to begin your convoy down range."Now make sure you dumbasses check your sleeping bags before you crawl in it at night and kiss yourselves nighty night and check for Jake". "Jake who sarge"?"Jake no shoes". Dumb ass! Oh and make sure you shake your boots out real good before you put your feet in them(scorpians,spiders,etc).
And I remember in Germany when we would be downrange on maneuvers there would be porta potties and they actually gave classes on field hygiene and tell you not to sit down on them but stand up on them and squat down. And never throw match sticks or toothpicks down in them or the "Crabs" would use them for pole vaults and jump on your person! Hahahaha.
Where I was stationed in Germany (Bremen), there were so many spiders in the field were we bivouacked, that I chose to sleep on top the APC 113 (armored personal carriers) in stead of the fox holes that we dug. Infantrymen aren't afraid of much. Just don't get us close to spiders! EeeeK!
I've got two stories here.
First of all, Ric. Tell about the time you had to "do like a bear" in the woods and ended up in the medic's tent. That is funny.
Next, not so funny.
One of our drivers found a Coral snake in Alabama (I think, somewhere down south) and brought it home. He has a lot of exotic animals like that. Any way, while he was out on the road his young daughter (who is fine, no problem at all) had a sever sinus infection come up in a hurry. The wife also noticed while passing the critter room, that the Coral snake was missing. His wife called him on the road and gave the symptoms. He told her regardless of the consequences to call 911 and got her to the hospital, thinking it was a snake bite. She reported what she thought it would be. They cordoned of (I think it was a 2 mile radius) the area. It was dead of winter. The snake was never found, and if it got out of the house, it was dead. He has a Blow snake, and they think it may have eaten the Coral snake. Scary
Turns out the spider in Doug's post isn't what was originally thought. It was a harmless non-poison variety. I'd hate to be the guy that made the original identification.
Hey man can we stop posting pictures of spiders? Shit I hate those things.
Yep,
seems as though the creature was most likely a harmless Huntsman spider. This will be difficult to verify as the biologist to which the spider was taken destroyed the creature over "liability and safety concerns".
So not only did the biologist mis- identify the spider he also failed to follow protocol in destroying the carcass.
The suspicious among us might think that Mr. Tulsa University Biologist at some point recognized his error and summarily and without prejudice eliminated any evidence of his screw up.
The good news is that it's safe to roam the banana aisle after all.
Thank goodness! Teresa and I religiously eat a banana every morning. But have been skittish about picking up a bundle of banana's at the store since the news of the spider. Eeeek.
When I was in the Army (many, so many moons ago), I did attend many Army schools/trainings, such as the Infantry Officers Basic Course, Recondo, Jump, Infantry Mortar Platoon Leaders Course, and many more combat related trainings. While stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, I was asked if I wanted to attend Jungle Warfare training in Panama. Initially I agreed, until I heard horror stories from guys that just returned (emotionally cracked) from Jungle Training. Some soldiers were saying when they woke up in the mornings in the jungle, there were tarantellas covering their sleeping bags, or had a warm snake in their sleeping bags. Now, I fear not much. Spiders and snakes? I am so out of there dude!
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