Video footage captured by Annete Alaniz Guajardo, shows a dead bat hanging in the arachnid’s web as the banana spider spun webs around it.
The texas native spotted the scene as she left for work that morning and started filming as she returned home to see if the bat was still there.
She pulled up her car and said in the video:
“I’m here, I just got home. Lets see what this little spider did to the bat.”
A shocked Annete discovered that the bat was already dead and the banana spider was weaving a web above its winged trophy. Perhaps mending damage caused by the bat flying into the six-foot web.
Sharing the clip on Facebook, Annette wrote:
This morning on my way to work I saw this on the side of my house. I love the country.
Reactions to the video have been a mix of horror and fascination, with many expressing terror that such a creature could be roaming around Texas.
As one person put it:
So these are the kind of things you see happen in Brazil, Thailand, or some kind of foreign jungle place like that, but this was outside of Annette Alaniz Guajardo house in POTEET TEXAS.
Owlcation reports that, banana spiders – also known as golden orb weaving spiders – typically grow up to two inches in size, excluding leg span. With leg span included some have measured in excess of five inches. Females are generally larger than the male of the species.
Found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and the southeastern United States, they are mildly venomous, with their bite capable of causing ‘redness, blisters, and pain’.
They are known for their complex webs of golden silk, which has been used previously by humans to create textiles.