UK man discovers spider eggs inside toe during France cruise. 'It was eating its way out'

Wolf spiders reportedly numb their prey before laying eggs.

A man whose toe had swollen and turned purple was shocked to discover that a spider had laid eggs inside. Colin Blake from Cramlington, Northumberland, told BBC that he first noticed the change in colour while on a cruise in France. He was with his wife and the couple were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary.

Blake decided to visit the ship’s doctor who told him that he had been bitten by a Peruvian wolf spider, which had laid eggs in his toe. Wolf spiders are commonly found in France city ports after arriving on cargo ships, People reported.

The medical team on the cruise cut open Blake’s toe. Pus came out and it looked like the fluid contained leaves. But they were actually eggs.

According to BBC, the spider bit Blake while he was dining out with his wife 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 back to the UK, the man was admitted in the hospital and put on antibiotics to decrease the swelling. Once the swelling came down, bite marks could be seen on his foot.

However, four weeks after the initial discovery, Blake noticed something weird with his toe again. It turned out to be a spider egg again that the doctors had missed in the beginning. His toe was cut again to drain the fluid out. He is set to make a full recovery.

"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.