'I don't want to get stung by THAT!' Horrified man films wasp dragging a paralysed huntsman spider back to its lair to be eaten alive by its babies
- Student Daniel Pankhurst filmed clip outside his home near Sydney, Australia
- Orange spider wasp is seen quickly dragging a paralysed huntsman spider away
- Female spider wasps can be up to 35mm in length and use them to feed babies
A student was left horrified after he saw an orange spider wasp dragging a paralysed huntsman spider back to its lair to be eaten alive.
Daniel Pankhurst, who filmed the battle outside his home near Sydney in Australia, said he felt 'nervous' while watching the predator get its prey.
Video shows the wasp circling around on the floor before approaching the huntsman spider and quickly dragging it away.
The wasp manages to move its catch across the concrete and a black floor mat and is finally seen dropping down into the grass.
Video filmed by Daniel Pankhurt near Sydney, Australia, shows the wasp circling around on the floor before approaching the huntsman spider and quickly dragging it away
Biomedical science student Mr Pankhurst sounds worried on the recording and says 'I don't want to get stung by that' as the wasp starts to edge away.
Mr Pankhurst said he spotted the battle after a 'bright moving orange object' caught his eye, something which he said 'is never a good thing in Australia'.
The huntsman is one of the world's biggest spiders, but it's no match for the wasp.
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He said: 'The paralysed spider would be dragged back to the wasp's nest to be eaten alive by its larvae. Having being stung before by these, I was nervous.'
Mr Pankhurst said the wasp was 'basically the Australian equivalent' of the dreaded tarantula hawk wasp.
The tarantula hawk has the highest rating on the Schmidt sting pain index. Its sting, one researcher said, causes 'immediate, excruciating, unrelenting pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except scream'.
The spider wasp grabs onto the paralysed huntsman spider and quickly moves it over the concrete (left) and rubber mat (approaching right) before disappearing into the grass
Mr Pankhurst said: 'These things will sting if you get even remotely close. At the start it actually stops dragging the spider and was going to sting me. I was at least three metres away.
'If you have any young animals like kittens and puppies, they can die from complications because the body goes into shock from the pain.'
He continued: 'I had to kill one a few weeks back to keep my kitten safe - not the same one from the video but an identical species.
'People might think that you only see these on a farm but I'm 20km from Sydney Harbour Bridge and insect-related dangers like this are the norm.'
Female orange spider wasps can grow to be up to 35mm in length (one pictured) and use the large spiders to lay eggs on. Once the babies hatch, they eat the still-living spider
Nonetheless, Mr Pankhurst recognises that the wasp has an important role to play predating more dangerous spiders.
He said: 'They're still capable of some good - in this case, not really as huntsman spiders are beneficial to us for pest control.
'But funnel web spiders, especially the males, are out looking for females right now due to the weather and they can kill with a single bite.'
Female orange spider wasps can grow to be up to 35mm in length. They hunt spiders by stinging their undersides, paralysing them, before dragging them back to a burrow and laying eggs on them.
When the grub hatches, it then feeds upon the still-living spider.
