A British man's romantic holiday took an unexpected turn when a Peruvian wolf spider laid eggs in his toe.
Colin Blake from Cramlington, Northumberland, went on a cruise to celebrate his 35th wedding anniversary, BBC reports.
After having an outdoor meal in Marseille, France, his toe had suddenly become swollen and turned purple. A ship's doctor informed Blake that a Peruvian wolf spider had bitten him and laid eggs inside his toe.
Blake says he was "totally unaware" of the bite. Initially, his wife suggested that his new sandals were to blame for the redness of the big toe.
However, when the medical staff cut his toe open with a scalpel, spider eggs came out.
Back in the United Kingdom, Blake was treated at a hospital and took a course of antibiotics to reduce the swelling.
Four weeks after the bite, Blake discovered a "foreign body" in his foot. Apparently, one of the spider eggs remained in the toe and hatched.
"They believe the spider was making its way out - eating its way out of my toe," said Blake, who is set to make a full recovery.
The Peruvian wolf spiders live in France after arriving in the area on cargo ships. They are not poisonous, but some people may develop allergic reactions to their bites.
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