Spiders In The Produce!!

[Jororo]

Okay, we've all heard the stories of people finding random and exotic spiders in their bananas and grapes and what not. I read a few stories here on the boards but I wanted to make it into it's own thread. Who has a story about finding a new addition on accident in your produce?
Ever since I started my spider hobby I've thought "wow, that would be the coolest".

 

[Poonjab]

Cool topic. I’ll be watching this.

 

[aaarg]

i've worked in produce for way too long and i've encountered way too few spiders, ha. i've found two spiders in banana boxes, and both were local/cosmopolitan and presumably got into the box somewhere else along it's travel. i've found spider eggs and some unrecognizably-damaged spider on organic bananas, which were probably on the bananas at harvest.

arthropod hitchhikers are rare on 'conventional' produce, but not incredibly uncommon on organic stuff. aphids in lettuce, spider eggsacs in grapes, all life phases of ladybugs, oh god the caterpillars~

here's something i find every so often on produce - a lacewing egg case! this one's on an avocado.

 

[Jororo]

i've worked in produce for way too long and i've encountered way too few spiders, ha. i've found two spiders in banana boxes, and both were local/cosmopolitan and presumably got into the box somewhere else along it's travel. i've found spider eggs and some unrecognizably-damaged spider on organic bananas, which were probably on the bananas at harvest.

arthropod hitchhikers are rare on 'conventional' produce, but not incredibly uncommon on organic stuff. aphids in lettuce, spider eggsacs in grapes, all life phases of ladybugs, oh god the caterpillars~

I almost feel like I should start shopping organic now haha! I mean, I won't, but I feel like I should. May go through and give all the organic bananas and grapes a check though. I saw a thread where someone found Heteropoda venatoria in their bananas and it made me so jealous!

 

[NYAN]

@Greasylake received an egg sac in some bananas. I’ll let them tell the story if they want to.

 

[mantisfan101]

I found a Cotinis nitida in a pile of figs once at hmart.

 

[Arthroverts]

We have a sort of mini-orchard in the backyard, so who knows what might come in with the Asian pears, peaches, apricots, apples, or plums? We've found small spiders, egg sacs, reduviids, lacewings, etc., although the best one was a couple of Asian pears that the birds got to and then left to the Cotinis, which when disturbed buzzed off in droves (easily 20-30 of em'). Their buzzing wings sounded like natural firecrackers...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Jororo]

We have a sort of mini-orchard in the backyard, so who knows what might come in with the Asian pears, peaches, apricots, apples, or plums? We've found small spiders, egg sacs, reduviids, lacewings, etc., although the best one was a couple of Asian pears that the birds got to and then left to the Cotinis, which when disturbed buzzed off in droves (easily 20-30 of em'). Their buzzing wings sounded like natural firecrackers...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

I've literally never found anything in produce. How do you people get so lucky?? I'm gonna start shopping at those expensive all organic earthy stores!

 

[Arthroverts]

I've literally never found anything in produce. How do you people get so lucky?? I'm gonna start shopping at those expensive all organic earthy stores!

Nah, you don't have to buy anything, you just gotta go and pretend to be Quality Control; inspecting for a better future, one bag of grapes at a time...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Jororo]

Nah, you don't have to buy anything, you just gotta go and pretend to be Quality Control; inspecting for a better future, one bag of grapes at a time...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

I'm gonna go full Weyland Yutani on them

 

[aaarg]

a reliable way to see signs of arthropods is to check the tops of apples (organic/local). jumping spiders love to construct silk hides in the nook where the stem meets the fruit. occasionally if you pull out the silk you'll find a molt or pieces of a dead spider. cuuuute.
(in my experience on an organic orchard, there are jumping spiders all over the trees. <3)

packages of organic blueberries occasionally have li'l green caterpillars in them

 

[Poonjab]

Supposedly, there was a guy back in 2014 who found a wandering spider and egg sac in his bananas over in the UK. Google search will pull up the story if interested.

 

[Jororo]

Supposedly, there was a guy back in 2014 who found a wandering spider and egg sac in his bananas over in the UK. Google search will pull up the story if interested.

To be honest, that would make me sweat a little. But I'd do my best, at least until I found someone who wanted all those Phoneutria slings.

 

[Europus Gigantus]

It's a very old family story that my grandfather (circa 1920) found a tarantula in a bunch of bananas. Every cousin and niece and nephew in my family heard that story. So we always checked our bananas. Think I will start doing it again!

 

[The Snark]

In the local markets I always search banana stalks. Nephila love banana 'trees'. I've found a couple so far. Just juvys.