http://www.gourmet.com/food/2009/04/spiders-in-grapes
Pardon me, sir, is that a poisonous spider in your organic grapes?
Confirmed cases in Ohio, Boston, South Africa, and the UK.
From the article:
“As the market for organic produce has grown over the last decade, so has reliance on natural predators like spiders, which have acted as a kind of biological pest control in rice paddies, fruit orchards, and corn and cotton fields for centuries. Without harming the grapes, spiders prey on the insects—aphids, caterpillars, leafhoppers—and mites in vineyards that hamper production. On the whole, the results of integrated pest management (IPM) are positive: Crop yields increase while chemical use decreases, resulting in better air, soil, and water quality. […]
spiders account for 95 percent of all vineyard predators, with some 10-50 spiders per vine. Of that number, however, an increasing percentage are black widows (highly venomous spiders whose bites can cause severe pain and, in very rare instances, death).”
Yet Another Thing to Worry About…
