Scientists at the University of Galway have published the first record of a noble false widow spider feeding on a pygmy shrew, a species of tiny mammal protected in Ireland.
A pygmy shrew was captured on a spider’s web on a bedroom window, the noble false widow spider then paralysed and hoisted the shrew up before eating it.
The new study, recently published in the international journal Ecosphere, demonstrates further the potentially negative impact of the invasive and venomous noble false widow spider on native species.
