The disturbing moment that a giant spider caught a bat in its web and got ready to eat it has been caught in skin-crawling images from a Texas farm.
Annette Alaniz Guajardo of Poteet, Texas, was leaving home for work when she noticed the arachnid had caught a meal a little bigger than usual.
Tangled in the lengthy web was a bat that appeared to be nearly double the banana spider's size.
Later in the day, when she pulled-up onto the driveway of her Sanchez ranch home, the bat was dead, according to her Facebook post.
'I love the country,' Guajardo wrote, sharing shocking images of the long-legged spider crawling over and wrapping up its next meal.
Typically banana spider preys upon insects including grasshoppers, flies, wasps, mosquitoes and moths, according to Ehrlich Pest Control.
Annette Alaniz Guajardo captured the images and watched as the spider rappelled down her lengthy web (left) to reach her next meal (right)
Despite the spider already having quite a hefty feast to devour, the homeowner thought it would be best to take her dogs inside.
On social media users have compared the shocking scenes to a 'nightmare,' mostly blown-away by the size of the spider and it's sizable catch.
'We now know what nightmares are made of: huge spiders eating bats!' wrote Vladimir William.
Another user added: 'So these are the kind of things you see happen in Brazil, Thailand, or some kind of foreign jungle place like that, but this was outside of Annette Alaniz Guajardo house in POTEET TEXAS.’
One user from Germany wrote that it looked like a film scene, comparing it to a clash between comic book heroes 'Spider-Man' and 'Batman'.
More worryingly, on another post, Josh Revilla wrote: 'I've had one at my ranch bigger. Eating a black bird.'
Earlier on in the day Guajardo captured the bat tangled in a banana spider's web (above). But the time she arrived home from work the bat was dead
Banana spiders, scientifically named 'Nephila Clavipes,' are also known as Writing spiders, Calico spiders and Golden Orb weavers.
Females are typically larger than their male counterparts, growing up to three inches whereas males only reach 0.02 inches, according to Ehrlich.
While the spiders are venomous, to humans their bites will only cause a slight redness and pain that is less severe than a bee sting.
They can spin webs up to six foot in diameter the site reports, which are often found in forests and on walking trails.
The orange hue of the spider's web allows it to blend in with the sun, making it harder for prey to see before falling into their trap.
Banana spiders are identifiable by their orange and tan abdomens with thinner legs.
Females also have furry tufts on all their legs apart from their third pair which is smaller.
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