Scientists in Ireland discovered that the venomous Noble False Widow spider can now capture and feed on a protected species of Pipistrelle bats, which are hundreds of times its weight, in the United Kingdom. Noble False Widow spiders are commonly found in Irish homes and were first reported in the UK in the 1870s.
The team from the National University of Ireland Galway's Ryan Institute said that the research that recorded the incident in England presents an example of the adverse impact of the invasive species in the native wildlife species in the UK.
A false widow spider begins the process of wrapping its prey caught in its web in silk, in a garden in the southern French city of Toulouse on August 8, 2017.
Extraordinary Discovery of a Spider Preying on Bats
Noble false widow spiders are venomous arachnids that look like black widows but are not native in the UK. According to the Natural History Museum, these spiders likely hitched a ride from Madiera and Canary Islands and made themselves at home in their new region.
By the 1980s, the spider had gained a strong foothold and formed established populations throughout most of the UK's southern counties and had already spread northwards. But the new research showed that the spider also developed an unusual feeding habit of eating a protected species of bats in the UK.
CNet reported that the scientists described it as an "extraordinary discovery" that wildlife artist Ben Waddams found in his home in England. The artist found a spider living in his attic that fed off a small, young bat caught in its web.
In a statement on Tuesday, the university said, "It is the first time a member of this family of spiders, called Theridiidae, has been recorded preying on a bat anywhere in the world or any vertebrate in Britain."
They also found a larger bat captured in its web that luckily survived after scientists untangled and released it. The Pipistrelle bats are small mammals that grow up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) in length and are protected species in the UK.
Study co-author zoologist Michel Dugon from NUI Galway said that this study, titled "Webslinger vs. Dark Knight: First Record of a False Widow Spider Steatoda Nobilis Preying on a Pipistrelle Bat in Britain," which was published in the journal Ecosphere is the first published report of a Noble False Widow spider preying on bats.
Dugon added that this addresses the adverse impact of the invasive insect on the native species in the country. The team released a video that details how the spider managed to capture and feed on the bat, shown in the video below this article.
False Widow Spider Captures Their Prey Similarly to Black Widow
Science Daily reported that false widow spiders possess a fast-acting neurotoxic venom that has a similar composition to the venom found in black widows that can cause neuromuscular paralysis in terrestrial vertebrates, such as reptiles and mammals, to easily eat them.
Aiste Vitkauskaite, a researcher at Venom Systems Lab in Ryan Institute, said that these spiders are just like their close relatives and have an extraordinary way of capturing their prey and a remarkably potent venom that allows them to capture small vertebrates that are many times larger than them.
As its population continues to expand in other regions, Vitkauskaite pointed out that it is already expected that similar predation events on small vertebrates by this spider will be reported even in protected species. They encourage people to contact them via email at falsewidow@nuigalway.ie to report sightings of the invasive spider species.
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