Spiders and Centipedes Devour Frogs, Snakes -- and an Opossum
Spidersand centipedes and water bugs, oh my! It turns out these creepy crawlies can bepredators just as fierce as lions and tigers. A team of biologists has documented 15 predator-prey interactions where the invertebrates are hunters and the vertebrates prey. Their article includes photo and video evidence of invertebrate predators – mostly large spiders as well as some centipedes and a giant water bug – killing and eating vertebrates such as frogs, tadpoles, lizards, snakes, and even a small opossum.Watch a video of the opossum incident, see more photos, and read my story at National Geographic: First-Ever Video Shows Tarantula Eating Opossum
Bats Provide Pest Control Services to Deer
There are a dozen or so species of blood-sucking flies that plaguewhite-tailed deer. There is little a deer can do to defend themselvesfrom these biting fly attacks.
But what is a painful nuisance to a deer is also a dinner buffet for bats. In a new study, researchers report numerous instances of insect-eating bats feeding on the swarms of flies attracted to white-tailed deer.
Read my post about it here: Bats Provide Pest Control Services to Deer
