According to a press statement from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, seven spiders of different species not native to Iceland have been found in American grapes since late November.
The statement refers to a story from last month, when a suspected black widow spider was found by an Icelandic couple in a bag of grapes.
The Institute says that since this story broke, they have received seven reports of suspected black widow spiders in produce—all of them from American grapes, and all of them from the same supermarket chain. One of these spiders was confirmed to be a black widow.
They confirm that over recent history, there have actually been 13 confirmed cases of black widow spiders making it all the way to Iceland, also in grapes from North America, most of them sold in the capital area.
It is not unusual for non-native insects to make their way to Iceland. They can arrive not only in produce, but also in furniture and even in imported Christmas trees. There is little danger of most of these species surviving, as they come from much warmer climates and are not accustomed to Icelandic temperatures.
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