Great, Bat Eating Spiders Can Be Found Just About Everywhere

[tboo]

http://io9.com/bat-eating-spiders-are-everywhere-except-antarctica-455805261

Link to research paper: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0058120

 

[Mixolydian]

Good thing I'm not a bat!

 

[Jeff7]

Good thing I'm not a bat!

It's been suggested that our ability to obtain meat on a regular basis is what really helped enable the development of our species' large brains, which eventually led us to planetary dominance.

 

[Greenman]

Tomorrow, I'm getting a flame thrower.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

so Spiderman is > Batman

 

[SagaLore]

Good thing I'm not a bat!

...yet

 

[datalink7]

They can even be behind your wall clock:

 

[Mixolydian]

They can even be behind your wall clock:

Thanks a lot, asshole. Now I won't be able to sleep tonight.

 

[Red Squirrel]

One of the nice thing living in the North, no need to deal with insane deadly spiders like this. Seems everything in the south is either ridiculously huge, poisonous, or both.

 

[BudAshes]

I have these under my house

 

[John Connor]

I guess every animal has its predator. It's nature's way.

 

[RossMAN]

http://www.bbcamerica.com/wild-things/2013/01/30/episode-2-not-so-itsy-bitsy-spider/

 

[Iron Woode]

looks like a type of argiope.

they are big enough here to catch a small bat.

 

[lupi]

some of those are disturbingly large. time for minute tactical nukes.

 

[SagaLore]

I remember seeing a picture of a praying mantis catching a humming bird.

 

[SunnyD]

I remember seeing a picture of a praying mantis catching a humming bird.

You mean the one that had the hummingbird impaled on it's leg?

 

[TwiceOver]

Fuuuuuuck that! Can't stand spiders. Kill it with fire, and bullets please.

 

[chitwood]

clicking on this thread was not a good idea

 

[dave_the_nerd]

You know, humans are very good at exterminating species. We've been doing it for thousands of years.

I think we should get back into the family business.

 

[Phanuel]

Spiders are excellent pest control. Eliminating them won't solve any problems, it'll make things worse.

 

[Jaskalas]

How'd a spider that big manage to sneak into the house?

 

[jhansman]

How the hell does a freakin' spider catch a creature as aware and swift as a bat? Flamethrower indeed....

 

[Ruptga]

How the hell does a freakin' spider catch a creature as aware and swift as a bat? Flamethrower indeed....

I don't know about the foraging spiders, but catching a bat with a web is as easy as building a strong enough web. Their sonar doesn't pick up fine things like spider webs or even the webbing of tennis rackets.

Anyway, one of the pictures in the article was obviously taken under a roof. Even if it was just a shed (which seems unlikely) I don't understand why the owner didn't find a way to kill it.

 

[FerrelGeek]

So how potent is their venom?

 

[mizzou]

Spiders are excellent pest control. Eliminating them won't solve any problems, it'll make things worse.

a pest controlling pests is still a pest