The most venomous spider in the world often catches a ride on shipments of bananas, causing panic when it is found. A German tabloid was once offering a cash reward for anyone who could spot one.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Koenig
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A spider alert shut down a German supermarket on Wednesday night.
Police and firefighters sealed off the building after a customer discovered several spider cocoons on bananas in the fruit department of a Globus supermarket in the town of Simmern.
Authorities were worried the cocoons could be filled with the dangerous Brazilian wandering spider, the police chief of operations said on Thursday.
The aggressive species of spider is widely believed to be the most venomous in the world.
They can grow to 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) and often hide inside banana plants. Their neurotoxic venom can lead to paralysis and asphyxiation.
Their apparent presence in banana shipments, whether actual or suspected, often causes panic in European supermarkets.
Cash reward
In 2016 a supermarket was shut down in the German state of Lower Saxony after a wandering spider was discovered in a shipment of bananas, causing panic. In February supermarket workers in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth found a 10-centimeter wandering spider in a shipment of bananas.
In 2014 German tabloid Bild was offering readers a 250-euro (US$270) reward for capturing a photo of the deadly spider.
In September last year the notorious British tabloid "The Sun" reported dozens of the spiders invaded a family home after hitching a lift on a bunch of bananas from their local supermarket. It claimed the spider's bite could cause an erection lasting four hours.
In 2005 a Brazilian wandering spider hiding in a shipment of bananas bit a man in England, who was treated and survived.
All clear
In this case, an expert from the local zoo looked at the specimen and decided it wasn't a Brazilian wandering spider, just a local variety, and the supermarket was reopened.
Local police thanked the institutions which quickly helped in its identification.
Here are the animals of 2017
Every year, environmental and scientific organizations name selected species to be celebrated, or to highlight the fact that they are endangered. These are the animals of the year 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Haid
A lover of dark cellars
This four-spotted-ichneumon wasp likes to spend the cold winter in caves, mines and cellars. It needs a frost free environment to survive the winter. By selecting this insect to be the "cave animal of 2017" Germany's speleologists want to highlight the fact that there are many different species who need access to such structures when they retreat underground.
Image: Klaus Bogon
An omnipresent house-dweller
Germany's arachnologists put their focus on this cute creature: Many of us have likely met the walnut orb-weaver spider at some point - around the garden or house. It loves to dwell in old masonry or in the bark of old trees or dead wood. Its cobwebs are large and beautiful: up to 50 inches in diameter.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/blickwinkel
Cute and elegant - but often persecuted
The reptile of the year has only tiny remnants of legs, which are hardly visible. That's why many people think it is a snake - and often even kill the creatures. Blindworms are defenseless but not blind. The name derives from Old High German and refers to the shiny - metal like scaly dress. It's reflections "blind" the observer.
Image: picture alliance/Arco Images
A fluffy bird of prey
The tawny owl is the bird of the year 2017. It usually nests in holes of trees or buildings. It's favorite environment are forests with old trees. That's why Germany's environmental protection association NABU selected the bird to advocate the protection of old parks and forests. By the way: tawny owls can also be found nesting in some barns. That doesn't make them barn owls, though.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Haid
Watch out, little mouse, be sure...
...that the owl doesn't catch you. At this time of year, the hazel dormouse is in hybernation. But, when it gets warmer, it will enter the limelight as the "wild animal of 2017". The German Foundation for Wild Animals selected the cute little rodent because it is an endangered species.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/blickwinkel
Flat as a flounder
The German Sport Fishing Association decided to name this creature fish of the year. The flounder is highly mobile, roaming around the seabed of the Baltic and North Sea - and beyond. Fishermen want to alert the public to the pollution of the sea as well as to dangers to the species by underwater construction, which restricts its freedom of movement.
Image: picture alliance/Arco Images
A bee with red pants
The Wild Bee Register chose this mining bee for 2017. Andrena hattorfiana mining bee is the perfect ambassador to show the world we need to make our landscapes more bee-friendly, the jury said. Not only is the lower body of this solitary bee coloured red - so are its packs of pollen, which it collects exclusively from certain flowers: Knautia arvensis, Scabiosa columbaria and Centaurea species.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/blickwinkel
A winged monster
The territory of the mantis is moving farther north. While looking meditative, this insect has some scary habits - like the female eating its husband after having had sex - a sort of dowry. The panel, however, decided to name it the "insect of the year" in order to honor this "fascinating representative of it's species" and to "debunk prejudice."
Image: Imago/Agencia EFE
Dragonly beauty
Germany's odonatologists selected the common clubtail as "dragonfly of the year". The insect represents a whole group of dragonflies which need bodies of running water as a habitat. Just 20 years ago, the species was listed as endangered. Now it is doing better - proof, that measures to renew and protect tiny streams and rivers have had some lasting effect.
Image: Leviathan1983-sa
Where are the clouds?
The pale clouded yellow does not really look pale, does it? And also the clouds are difficult to find. Anyway, it is the butterfly of 2017. This species loves blossoming meadows. Its favorite dish are flowers of alfalfa and clover. The main enemy of this butterfly is intensive agriculture with monotonous plants.