Was it the Deadliest Spider in the Bananas

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Was it the Deadliest Spider in the Bananas
Was it the deadliest spider in bananas? Meanwhile Asda's cut-price bananas start price war!
A SHOCKED Halifax dad thought he was going bananas when he came face to face with what he feared was a deadly spider in his bag of fruit.
Gez White, of Hambleton Drive, Mixenden, was about to open the packaging of the bunch while unpacking his weekly shop when he spotted the creature hiding inside.
After searching through different species on the internet he suspected it could be the aggressive and highly-venomous Brazilian wandering spider. And it was still alive.
An investigation is now under way to find out what the spider is. "I thought it was a bit of muck at first but then I saw one of its legs – it was quite a size," said Mr White, a 38-year-old father of five. He said it was about the size of a 10p piece when it was curled up.
"It's like nothing I've seen in this country. It scared the life out of me. I don't like spiders as it is but then I looked it up and found it could be deadly."
But an expert, who has studied the Courier photos, said the insect was probably tropical but unlikely to be dangerous.
Dr Dean Waters, a senior zoology lecturer at the University of Leeds, said: "I don't think it's a Brazilian wandering spider. They have fairly plain colouration and no marks on the legs, unlike this specimen. They also seem to be red or pinkish around the jaws.
"This is much more likely to be a huntsman spider, which are common in the tropics and are often imported with fruit. They are large and fast but generally not aggressive – and not poisonous."
Staff from Asda at Thrum Hall, Halifax, where Mr White bought the bananas, collected the fruit containing the creature, which has now been sent to the store's suppliers Del Monte for identification.
A spokeswoman for the supermarket said: "We are carrying out a full investigation with our suppliers to identify the spider."
Brazilian

* Also known as banana spiders, they are found in tropical South and Central America.
* The Brazilian wandering spiders appear in Guinness World Records 2007 as the world's most venomous spider, and are thought to be responsible for the most human deaths from spider bites.
* They are called wandering spiders because they wander the jungle floor at night, rather than residing in a lair or maintaining a web. During the day they hide inside termite mounds, under fallen logs and rocks, and in banana plants and bromeliads.
* The Brazilian wandering spider can grow to have a leg span of up to five inches. They are large hairy spindly-looking spiders who have eight eyes, two of which are large.
* They are fast-moving spiders, their legs are strong and spiny and they have distinctive red jaws which they display when angered.
Huntsman

* Huntsman spiders are very common in Australia, and many tropical and semi-tropical parts of the world.
* They are also known as giant crab spiders, because of the way their legs extend forwards like a crab's pincers.
* They do not build webs, but hunt and forage for insects and small invertebrates.
* They have eight eyes, are generally brown or grey-coloured, and can grow to have a leg span of up to 12 inches.
* They can bite, but are generally not aggressive and their venom is not deadly
* Although they are not poisonous, they have been known to cause human deaths – when people have mistaken them for other deadly species while driving and crashed.

Today Asda slashed the price of bananas to their lowest level in 14 years, angering some rivals who accuse the supermarket of a "pointless" price war.
Asda said it was guaranteeing the price cuts will not be passed on to suppliers and urged other supermarkets, who have made their own cuts, to do the same.
The fear is that consumers will come to expect the rock-bottom prices and the cost will eventually be passed on to growers in developing countries.
The latest cuts mean Asda, which sells two million kilograms of bananas every week, charges 46p/kg for loose bananas. On August 25 the price was 84p/kg.
Alex Brown, Asda's produce director, said: "Our job is to do all we can to help cut the cost of living for families across the UK and there's no better way of doing that than by lowering prices on core staples that go into millions of shopping trolleys every week.
"We're footing the bill so can guarantee the move won't have any impact on the price we pay our suppliers, and any other retailer following our lead should make that same commitment."
Rival supermarkets have followed suit in cutting prices but expressed concern over having to absorb millions of pounds in discounting.
The Morning Star: September 2009