These incredible photos show a venomous redback spider after it captured a live mouse in its web before devouring it.
The dramatic moment was captured on camera by Ruben Boddington as he attempted to cycle across his land in Western Australia.
"I was about to jump on my push bike when I saw something moving near the pedals," Mr Boddington told ABC .
"I had a close look and saw it was a redback wrapping up this mouse, which was still alive."
Mr Boddington has never seen a redback before but believes that the arachnid was brought onto his property after being hidden in a kayak that was being returned by his brother.
The astonishing episode is believed to be one of the only documented cases of its kind.
The only other instance of a redback catching a mouse was an image taken in New South Wales in 2016 showing a small field mouse caught in a web.
Spider expert Robert Whyte said that the animal would have first disabled the their prey with a powerful neurotoxin before consuming it.
A bite would not be enough to paralyse the mouse prompting the spider to wrap it in a cocoon.
"A mouse would need a little bit more than a bite to render it unconscious," he said.
"It actually needs to be wrapped up so the redback can consume it."
The terrifying insects vomit their digestive juices into their prey to dissolve it and then "suck up the slurry."
"They are dissolving the muscles, gut, and brain — anything that is more or less flesh."
Redback spiders - which are native to Australia - are highly adaptive nature and have even spread to the UK.
"It has now spread all over the world, in Japan, England, Belgium, the UAE; it's one of our most successful exports."
Redback spider bites can cause death and are particularly dangerous in children.
However, the spider often bites without using its venom.
"Their bite is incredibly painful but only 25 per cent of people bitten experience pain. It's often a dry bite," Mr Whyte said.
