A spokesperson from the Icelandic Institute of Natural History has stated that seven spiders of different species -not native to Iceland- have been found in American grapes since late November.
Since this story broke, the Institute has received seven reports of suspected black widow spiders in produce; all of them from American grapes, all of them from the same supermarket chain. One of the spiders was 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 near the capital.
According to grapevine.is, 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.
