Wolf Spider Lays Eggs in Man’s Toe While He’s on a Cruise

When Colin Blake noticed his toe turn purple and start to swell, he knew something was wrong.

Blake, who’s from Cramlington, Northumberland, told BBC that he first noticed his toe changed color while he was on a cruise in France celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary. After visiting the ship’s doctor to get it checked out, he was informed that he’d been bitten by a Peruvian wolf spider, which had laid eggs in his toe.

Wolf spiders are often found in France city ports after arriving on cargo ships.

The ship’s medical team cut open Blake’s toe letting out pus. The fluid reportedly looked like it contained leaves, which turned out to be spider eggs.

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According to the outlet, Blake was bitten by the spider while he and his wife were having a meal outdoors in Marseille, France. He told the BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime that he didn’t feel the spider bite him. This breed is reportedly known to numb its prey before laying eggs.

“My wife thought it may be because I had new sandals and they were rubbing on my big toe and that was causing it to be red,” Blake said on the radio show.

Once Blake arrived back in the UK he was admitted to the hospital and given antibiotics to help with the swelling. Once the swelling subsided, bite marks from where the spider bit Blake could be seen on his foot.

Although Blake is set to make a full recovery, four weeks after the initial discovery he noticed something weird with his toe again. He later learned that doctors missed a spider egg when cleaning out the fluid from his toe. Doctors cut open Blake’s toe again and removed the spider – which had been killed by the antibiotics.

“One of the spider eggs hadn’t been flushed and must have hatched,” he said. “They believe the spider was making its way out – eating its way out of my toe.”

“I did ask if I could keep it but they said no,” he added.