Texas woman records giant spider eating bat

Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A Texas woman captured photos and videos of an unusual nature scene outside her home -- a huge spider eating a bat trapped in its web.

Annette Alaniz Guajardo said she was getting ready to leave for work Wednesday when she spotted the bat trapped in the web of a large black and gold garden spider at her Poteet home.

Guajardo said the bat was dead and the spider appeared to be eating it when she returned home from work.

Matt Bertone, an entomologist with the North Carolina State University Plant Disease and Insect Clinic, said the spiders, known scientifically as Argiope aurantia, generally eat insects, but they have been documented feasting on larger creatures.

"They have been known to catch birds and other larger animals in their webs and eat them," Bertone told WTVD-TV.