Beyond the Fly Trap: When Spiders Go for Mammals
When most people think of spiders, the image is simple: tiny creatures catching mosquitoes or flies in a dusty web. But scientific research is here to shatter that cozy picture. It turns out that spiders hunting bats is not a bizarre, once-in-a-lifetime occurrence—it’s a verified, global phenomenon!
A massive review of evidence has confirmed that the capture and consumption of small mammals, specifically bats, is happening all over the world. Researchers have documented at least 52 confirmed incidents where spiders successfully preyed on bats.
Where did this shocking number come from? It's the result of a comprehensive review published by zoologists Dr. Martin Nyffeler and Dr. Bradley J. Pusey. Their paper pulled together scientific literature and reliable eyewitness accounts, firmly establishing that certain large spiders are highly effective hunters capable of overpowering prey that is many times their own size and weight.
Where and How These Macabre Hunts Happen The majority of these chilling events—about 90 percent of the confirmed cases—were recorded in tropical and subtropical regions. This makes perfect sense; these are the ecological hotspots where both spider and bat species grow to impressive, large sizes, increasing the potential for these deadly face-offs.
The spiders responsible fall mainly into two hunting groups:
The Giant Web Weavers: This includes large Orb-Weavers (like the Nephila genus). These spiders are notorious for spinning huge, durable webs, sometimes reaching a meter across. A bat, striking this sticky, strong silk during flight, becomes instantly entangled and immobilized.
The Massive Ground Hunters: This group includes the large, often nocturnal ambush predators like Tarantulas and Huntsman Spiders. These species strike when bats land nearby or get trapped close to their lairs, such as in building eaves or cave entrances.
While documented incidents span every continent except Antarctica, they are most prevalent in South and Central America, Asia, and Australia, reflecting where the largest populations of these hunter spiders and bats overlap. Tragically for the bat, the spider quickly injects venom to paralyze it, beginning a consumption process that can last several hours or even days.
ref : https://factfun.co/spiders-hunting-bats-documented-incidents/