In perhaps what our nightmares are made of, a resilient spider managed to not only trap a snake in its web but also kill it and climb atop it, as if to gloat.
However, it was no ordinary spider to begin with. This was the much feared ‘black widow’, an infamous spider, whose venom is nearly 15-times as poisonous as that of the vicious rattlesnake’s.
A video of the same was shared on Twitter by a handle called @NatureIsLit.
The video shows a snake caught in a web, looking helpless next to a much-smaller spider.
The usual prey that walks into a black widow’s web ranges from grasshoppers to caterpillars. For a snake to get entangled in this web, is therefore, unusual.
Netizens responded to the video hilariously, expressing their fear in creative ways. “This is cursed footage,” wrote one person, while another said,”What hemisphere is this, so I never enter it.”
However, is there any reason to be worried about the black widow? While the spider’s venom can induce a strong reaction, it is not fatal except in the case of children or elderly. The spider is not aggressive and primarily stings in self-defence. It is also mostly found in temperate climates.