Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) feeding on snakes (Reptilia: Squamata)

Abstract

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Webslinger vs. Dark Knight: First record of a false widow spider Steatoda nobilis preying on a pipistrelle bat in Britain

“…The predation event on a bat reported here is the second case of predation by S. nobilis on a protected vertebrate species (Dunbar, Ennis, et al, 2018). Although published accounts of spiders preying on vertebrates seem relatively rare, important work by Nyffeler and Gibbons (2021) reporting on 319 cases of spiders preying on snakes shows that the true occurrence of such events may be much higher than anticipated. Outside of its native range, S. nobilis is mostly synanthropic, although there is evidence of specimens spilling into natural and seminatural habitats (Bauer et al, 2019; Hambler, 2019).…”

“…The most common spider groups preying on vertebrates are Pisauridae, which include raft, or fishing spiders that specialize in aquatic prey (mostly fish but also amphibians); Araneidae (orb‐weavers), which can build large two‐dimensional webs that are capable of capturing birds and mammals; Ctenidae, which are nocturnal wandering spiders and efficient amphibian hunters; and Theridiidae, which are common in and around synanthropic habitats and therefore quite likely to be observed preying upon lizards, snakes, and rodents (Valdez, 2020). Sixty percent of snakes and 34% of mammals observed being preyed on by spiders were captured by members of the family Theridiidae (Nyffeler & Gibbons, 2021; Valdez, 2020) to which the false widows (genus Steatoda ) and true widows (genus Latrodectus ) belong (subfamily Latrodectinae). Steatoda and Latrodectus spiders construct three‐dimensional cobwebs made of strong silk that are capable of restraining large prey.…”

“…The second bat entangled in the web (Figure 3) presented no clear sign of interference by the spider. Although this bat was larger than the bat from the previous night (Figure 2), it is still within the expected prey size range for an adult female S. nobilis to overpower, when compared to other Latrodectus and Steatoda spp., which are capable of subduing prey hundreds of times their weight (Nyffeler & Gibbons, 2021; Nyffeler & Vetter, 2018). The first bat (Figure 2) was large compared with the spider, but other than moving about while struggling (evidenced by the limbs being pinned with silk), as a pup, it was unlikely to pose any real threat to the spider.…”

“…Once a prey is entangled in their web, Steatoda and Latrodectus spiders flick or wrap silk threads around it before paralyzing it with their potent neurotoxic venom (Dunbar, Ennis, et al, 2018;Dunbar, Fort, et al, 2020;Vitkauskaite et al, 2021). Prior to this case, only seven observations have been recorded of Steatoda species preying on vertebrates: Steatoda triangulosa (Greco & Pugno, 2021;Nyffeler & Gibbons, 2021;Petrov & Lazarov, 2000;Vitkauskaite et al, 2021), Steatoda paykulliana (Zamani, 2016), and S. nobilis (Dunbar, Ennis, et al, 2018). Sometimes, the location chosen by individual spiders can be surprisingly fruitful.…”

Predation by a tarantula (Sericoplma immensum) on a Terciopelo (Bothrops asper) in Sierpe de Osa, Costa Rica

“…On O phiophagy by spiders has been well documented (Nyffeler and Gibbons 2021), with 319 incidents involving more than 30 species of spiders preying on more than 86 species of snakes. Spiders in the tarantula family Theraphosidae were the second most important snake predators, comprising about 10% of all such accounts.…”