What’s more terrifying than a giant spider or a giant snake? How about a giant spider that can trap and eat a giant snake. This may sound like something out of a horror movie, but the Australian Golden silk orb-weaving spider can do just that.
This was a horrifying fact Daniel Reardon learned when he happened upon a struggling brown tree snake that fell into the web of an orb-weaving spider.
Golden silk orb-weaving spiders are pretty big members of the spider family. They can grow to be around 2 to 2.7 inches in body length, not counting their leg span.
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These spiders don’t waste their time on small insects. They go for the big prey. Orb-weaving spiders are known to trap and feed on various types of snakes and birds.
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As you can infer from their name, brown tree snakes love to spend their days in trees. They’re mostly nocturnal, and prey on birds and small rodents.
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While they’re good climbers, brown tree snakes falter and fall out of their tree every once in a while. This can lead to some gruesome scenes, and a feast for an enterprising orb-weaving spider.
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This particular brown tree snake was around three feet long and put up an hour-long fight with this spider before the end. Here’s the terrifying video of the aftermath of the battle.
Warning. It’s not for the faint of heart.
H/T: IFL Science
This particular species of terrifying orb-weaving spiders are mostly found in Australia. However, some orb-weaving species exist in the Americas. Luckily, they’re not nearly as vicious. I don’t think I could handle running into one of these in the wild.
