A Calgary man is making headlines after finding a highly venomous black widow spider hidden among red seedless grapes he had been eating for two days.
What happened?
The discovery came when Sean Cardiff reached back into his bag of red grapes and noticed what seemed to be a tiny dark speck. Then he realized it was moving.
Describing the moment to CBC News, he said, "It was like a black spot, and I kind of shook it a little bit, and that little black spot suddenly had legs and started crawling towards my hand."
Once his children and dog were out of danger, and he had captured the spider, Cardiff phoned his parents. His mother, Linda Hall, later took the spider home, kept it trapped under a taped-shut glass-and-plate setup, and placed it in the freezer to kill it humanely, according to CBC News.
Hall told the outlet that her first impression was that it was "just some sort of black spider," but its distinctive red hourglass marking helped to easily confirm it was a black widow.
After looking over photos, Alberta-based Olds College entomologist Ken Fry agreed the spider was a black widow.
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He explained to CBC News that the grapes' origin in Mexico meant the exact species could not be determined, but added that finds like this are "becoming more common" in imported produce.
Why does it matter?
Fry told the outlet that one factor may be lower pesticide use in grape growing, which can leave beneficial predators such as spiders in the crop. In turn, shoppers may sometimes encounter part of the ecosystem that exists alongside their food.
Produce often travels from warm growing regions to homes thousands of miles away, and those shipments can occasionally include unexpected hitchhikers.
As noted in the BBC's reporting on why wild animals attack humans, many human-wildlife encounters are shaped by the ways people alter habitats or move species through trade and development.
Even so, Fry explained to CBC News that black widow bites are extremely rare because the spiders "are not aggressive."
To avoid a potential bite, make sure you inspect and wash produce as soon as you bring it home. Experts also say any spider found in produce should not be touched directly. People should avoid startling spiders and, if they think one may be a black widow, place it in a container and freeze it.
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