NUIG researchers record first Irish case of spider eating a reptile

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Researchers at NUI Galway have published the first record of a spider in Ireland feeding on a reptile.
It’s after a ‘False Widow’ spider was discovered in a garden eating a lizard almost three times its size.
The Noble False Widow spider – first recorded in Ireland 20 years ago – possesses fast-acting neurotoxic venom that can cause paralysis.
It’s bite has a mild effect on humans – similar to a wasp or bee sting which generally has no lasting effects.
It can also produce a very strong silk which gives it a major advantage over native spiders in entangling larger prey- though they mainly eat other insects.
However, for the first time in Ireland, researchers at NUI Galway have recorded the species feasting on a lizard almost three times it’s size.
They say the incident, recorded in a garden in Killiney, Co. Dublin, raises questions about the longer-term effect the alien species could have on the eco-system.
The Venom Systems Laboratory at NUI Galway is the only one in the world currently working on extracting venom from the Noble False Widow for potential therapies.