NUIG researchers record evidence of spider that can eat bats

Arachnophobes click away now!

Image via Pixabay

We're lucky in Ireland share the environment with a host of animals and critters that aren't particularly dangerous.

But don't be fooled into thinking they don't pack a bit of a punch when they want to.

Researchers at NUIG have been made aware of a discovery of one particular species of spider, that's been found to be feeding on a young bat.

The noble false widow has been under examination by NUIG for some years.

RTÉ reports "The noble false widow originated in the Canary Islands and Madeira but has been spreading worldwide in the last two decades. It is now one of the most common spiders found in urban settings in Ireland."

The discovery was made in Shropshire in England by artist Ben Waddams who found bats entangled in a spider's web attached to his house.

Scientists report it's the first time any species of false widow has been recorded preying on mammals.

Speaking to RTÉ Dr Michel Dugon, who oversees the research has described how the spider may have killed an animal so much larger than it:

"A bat is several hundred times the weight of the spider and yet this species is capable of wrapping the prey in silk, injecting a toxic venom to immobilise its catch and then eating it.

"The spider does not have workable jaws to chew on their prey. Instead, they rely on their venom to paralyse and kill before they inject the prey with digestive juices from their stomach. They wait for those juices to dissolve the muscles and organs of the prey, and they then suck everything up 'like a broth'."

Lovely...