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hapalopus · 5 years

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Hi! I was wondering if you could help me with some spider questions in the fantasy genre. See, I'm trying to write a fantasy book and a group of humans have been cursed to live as abnormally large spiders without their human mind. I want to write the spider behavior somewhat accurately, despite the unrealistic situation (and I'm not sure what kind of spiders or if hybrids is the way to go), but I don't know where to start or what the specific key words are to figure out what I need to know.(1/2)

(2/2) I’ve done some research on it before but was unable to really find what I was looking for (probably also because I’m not sure about the spider type), so I was wondering if you were willing to point me in the right direction with some good, basic websites? (Danish, English or both are fine). Either way, thanks in advance!

Generalizing spider behavior is like generalizing carnivoran behavior! Like, sure, cats and dogs have a lot of behavior in common, but you wouldn’t say their behavior is the same. Just think about it: there are 270 species of carnivorans and all of them - even the close relatives, like wolves and coyotes - have different behavior. Meanwhile there are around 40.000 species of spider!! So you’re right that the reason you can’t find any concrete behavior is probably because you haven’t narrowed down any species to take your inspiration from :)

There are a few things you can generalize about spider behavior:

Spiders, like cats, are both predators and prey (and even then there’s exceptions like Bagheera kiplingi who are mostly vegetarian or Adelocosa anops who don’t really have any predators). Spiders aren’t confident apex predators who laze around, like lions. They have to be on guard at all times, and most prefer to hide when they aren’t actively hunting for food or mates. This may not be relevant to your story though, if your spiders are the size of Shelob!

Spiders’ primary sense is sensing vibrations in the air and ground with fine hairs on their legs and abdomen. Even species that rely heavily on eye-sight (like jumpers) still primarily sense with their hairs. They also detect sounds and smells with hairs on their legs and have no sense of taste in their mouth. Most spiders have really lousy sight and all of them have lousy hearing!

All spiders make web, but they make it for wildly different reasons (even a single species can easily have 5-10 different kinds of web). A few examples of webs include spiral webs, tangle webs, sheet webs, safety lines, sperm webs, egg sacs, gossamer threads, and cocoons. This article gives a really good overview [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_silk] and if you really wanna dig deep, the book “Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating” by Leslie Brunetta and Catherine L. Craig should be really good (though I haven’t personally read it yet).

All spiders (and all animals, honestly) exhibit some kind of social behavior. For some spiders this is overt aggression towards other members of their species. For others it’s tolerance, or even a preference for being social! The key is that they all react to and interact with members of their own species.

Some species I suggest looking into (aka some of my favorites, I’m very biased):

Long-bodied cellar spider (Pholcus phalangioides) - A common guest in bathrooms around the world. They may not look like much, but they have some of the most interesting social behavior imho! There’s a bit of conflicting information floating around, which is par for the course for any invertebrate, but to generalize: They’re semi-social, as the slings and juveniles will often cooperate when building webs and catching prey, and they’re web-pirates who’ll steal other webs and eat the former inhabitants. Young spiders are known to eat communally, and older spiders are known to live close to and tolerate each other. The female mixes sperm from several males, which means that all males have sired some of her offspring and thus won’t want to kill it because they might kill their own. The female protects her eggs and babies for weeks until the juveniles can survive on their own and disperse. This is a fairly common level of sociality that you’ll also see in a lot of other genera, including Metepiera, Cyrtophora, and Badumna. Can you tell I love my bathroom spiders?

Socotra Island blue baboon (Monocentropus balfouri) - This species is also ‘just’ tolerant of other members of its species, but it’s unique in that it’s a tarantula! Individuals from different egg sacs can sometimes attack each other, but if they’re raised together and have enough food they won’t mind each other. The females will defend and feed their offspring until they’ve molted a few times, so they’re also good mothers!

Social wall spider (Oecobius civitas) - This one’s probably the most unique (and the one with the scarcest information online). These spiders’ webs are connected, and can hold up to 200 spiders per 100 square inches. If one spider is disturbed it’ll dart out of its little web burrow and try to find another hiding place, and if no hiding place is available it’ll run into another spider’s burrow. The spider in this burrow will then flee and try to find a new hiding place, which can lead to tens of spiders running around for several seconds until they’ve all found new hiding places. Another thing these spiders do is having a shared egg sac in their colony where all the females will deposit their eggs, which are then protected communally by adults and older juveniles. They also hunt communally which lets them take down larger prey, and have been known to regurgitate food to feed spiderlings.

Honorary mention to Agelena consociata, Anelosimus eximius, and Archaearanea wau who might actually be the most social spiders, but whom I’d have to read up on to accurately cover. I’ve already spent much more time on this than I meant to, RIP. The book “The Encyclopedia of Land Invertebrate Behaviour” by Rod and Ken Preston-Mafham covers their behavior.

This paper gives a very quick overview of the social behavior of a bunch of different species: [https://www.academia.edu/2702901/The_evolution_of_social_behavior_in_spiders]

#ask #bugblr

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ruinouss-archived · 3 years

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Dossier

Disclaimer: This contains the basics that mainly center around a more modern world. Any verse specifics can be found under her VERSES page.

The backstory TL;DR of her bio is at the bottom. Backstory tws: child/domestic abuse mention, alcohol, drugs, and death.

Mini Ref - Other Visuals - Tattoo and Scar Guide (coming soon)

General

Name: Faye Rivera

Nicknames: Red, that bitch

Race: Human (most verses)

Age: 28

Gender: Cis-Female

Orientation: Demiromantic pansexual

DoB: May 3rd

Occupation: Gun for hire

Appearance

Height: 5'3"

Body Type: Hourglass

Skin Tone: Tanned

Hair: Reddish Brown

Eyes: Heterochromia blue (left) & brown (right)

Notable features: Freckles over bridge of nose, beauty mark on left jaw, notch in right ear, scar across right side of neck, and small ones scattered over body

Modifications: Three piercings in right ear, five piercings in left ear, behind left ear, and on her left hip/thigh.

Face Claim: Adria Arjona

Personal

Skills: Expert hand to hand combat, expert marksmanship, expert swordsmanship, first aid, cooking, minor mechanical knowledge, minor hacking knowledge

Weapons: Dual swords/daggers, hidden blades, retractable bo-staff, dual pistols, various other weapons depending on the job

Likes: Cooking/eating, drawing/painting, danger, drinking, the ocean, music (listening and playing)

Dislikes: Authority, failing, spiders (borderline phobia), being alone, losing her temper

Fears: Blackout darkness, claustrophobia

Family: Fiona Rivera (mother), Ryder Rivera (older brother), Cesar Steele (father), Joseph Duvall (Mentor/adoptive father)

Personality: Upon first impression Faye comes off as a cocky, audacious smartass with a death wish. She lives life to the fullest and tends to be rather reckless in some of her actions. But don’t let this fool you, she’s very calculating in her risks and has at least two back up plans already in the works. She’s slow to trust and can come off as a bit callous in some of her mannerisms and responses and her chaotic neutral disposition can prove unfavorable if a higher bidder comes along. It’s a cruel world and she’s learned the hard way to do the double cross first. She’s constantly looking for the next job/adventure and can find the silver lining in even the most bleak of situations. Her mouth tends to operate faster than her mind which often gets her into some sticky situations but she’s learned to adapt and roll with the punches. Literally and figuratively. If one manages to tolerate her and stick around long enough to gain her trust they’ll earn themselves a friend who’ll gladly trade her life for theirs. They’ll also learn there’s more to her than meets the eye. And as a final warning, be mindful as she has a nasty temper that can get the best of her in the blink of an eye.

Bio: Ever since she was born, life was difficult to put it simply. Her father, Cesar, was a cruel man who took over a criminal empire at a young age. Her mother was forced to be his property in exchange for her sister’s life. He found his men to have too many morals and decided to treat his two children as experiments, forcing them to commit heinous acts at a young age and severely and inhumanely punishing them when they disobeyed. Faye got the worst of it as her she got his tenacious and rebellious spirit. Her mother did what she could to protect her children, attempting many times to escape with her children. Each failed escape ended with a worse punishment that only fueled a fire and hatred for the man. It wasn’t until she was around eight and her brother was eleven that they finally got their chance to escape. A highly trained mercenary had been hired to infiltrate Cesar’s domain and gather what intel he could. Upon discovering the family, he decided to assist them in escaping, believing Faye’s mother, Fiona, would be able to divulge valuable information. It was an escape as Cesar always seemed to be a step ahead. They managed to escape the compound but didn’t get very far before Cesar had tracked them down. The mercenary, Joseph, was badly injured during the firefight, leaving the three basically defenseless. In a last ditch effort, Fiona gave her life to save her children. Faye and her brother took to the woods, using their smaller size to their advantage as night fell. Assuming they’d succumb to the elements, Cesar gave up the chase and returned to his base of operations. The pair waited for hours before finally moving, knowing there was nothing else but to look forward. Eventually they came across train tracks and followed it to a city where they survived in the slums by stealing and taking advantage of anyone that crossed their path. Over a year passed before their luck took a curious turn. Faye was attempting to pickpocket a stranger when they managed to catch her by her wrist. To both their surprise it turned out to be the same mercenary who had rescued her and her brother. He had survived his injuries that fateful night and spent days searching for them before ending up in the city. He decided to offer her a deal; he would adopt her and her brother but they’d have to follow his every command or they could remain on the streets where eventually their luck would run out. At the thought of becoming mercenaries themselves and avenging their mother, they agreed. The following years were exhausting and difficult as they went through rigorous training to prepare themselves for the cruelty of the world while also having to balance school work. When their vindictive intentions came to light, Joseph confronted them with him and Ryder having a huge falling out who refused to bow down. A fight ensued but Joseph was quick to put Ryder back into his place, showing their was still much the eighteen year old could learn. This only upset Ryder who took off, leaving Faye to train alone. Despite the pain she felt from her brother’s abrupt disappearance she remained with Joseph, continuing to learn the trade and feeling the first sting of betrayal. They had been on a mission when one of their comrades double crossed them for a large cut. While they managed to complete the mission, Joseph suffered injuries that required him to retire. Faye continued on and when she was twenty-one fell in love with a man named Ethan who showed her an even more lucrative world dealing in the underworld. She ignored her father’s warnings and pleas to not go down that path, running off with Ethan who manipulated into doing just about anything. A few years went by before she was ultimately betrayed by Ethan who attempted to kill her, slicing her neck and setting the building they were in on file. Miraculously, Faye managed to survive and pull herself out where she was able to get medical help in the nick of time. Her father came to visit where they reconciled. However, it was a short lived reunion as Ethan had heard of Faye’s survival and sent some men to dispose of her. Joseph was killed protecting his daughter. Grief stricken, Faye gave in to her rage and spent the next several months tracking Ethan and anyone associated with him down before brutally killing them. Unable to properly cope with her grief and pain, she dissociated, becoming a living weapon. She reached out to contacts in the underworld, taking damn near every job offered to her no matter how gruesome or cruel the specifics might’ve been. She turned to alcohol and drugs to help dull her senses. This continued for about a year until her brother managed to track her down. It was a rough month as he forced her to detox and face what had happened and what she’d been doing the past year before finally bringing her back to normal. He helped her grieve and the two caught up where she learned he had in fact killed their father and took over the criminal empire, changing things so it was mainly just guns and drugs they dealt with. He’d always kept an eye on her but it wasn’t until she really went off the rails that he decided to step in. Ryder remained with Faye, accompanying her on a few missions and showing her a few of his contacts that assisted in more training and fine tuning her abilities. He stayed until he was certain she wouldn’t slip back into a dark place. The two remained in contact and Faye continued working as a gun for hire with jobs ranging from being a body guard to contract killer. She remained rather neutral with the jobs she took, only stating killing animals and most children were off the table. Old habits died hard and she found herself finding some comfort in alcohol on the lonely nights. TL;DR: Father was a crime lord and murdered her mother in front of her and her brother as they were trying to escape. The siblings lived on the streets for a year before a mercenary took them in. She trained with him even after her adoptive father and brother had a falling out and her brother left. She eventually ran off with some guy who manipulated her and introduced her to the underworld before eventually betraying her. She managed to survive and reconciled with her father right before her ex’s men tried killing her and instead ended up killing her adoptive father. This sent her in a rage where she hunted down her ex and his associates. After successfully killing them, she was unable to cope with the guilt that came with her father’s death. She cut herself off from her emotions and started taking just about any job even if it meant killing innocent. This continued until her brother decided to step in and try and get her back on the right track. When he managed to break through they caught up and she learned he’d killed their father and had taken over the criminal business with some changes. They remained in touch and eventually Faye started working as a gun for hire again, taking jobs that ranged from being a body guard to a contract killer with a slightly better moral compass than before.

Extras

Knows a few different languages

Claustrophobia and fear of darkness stems from being locked in a footlocker/closet/cellar as punishment from her father

Usually always has snacks on her

Sometimes gives people nicknames

Has used the pseudo name Sharon Peters (say it fast)

Has safe houses scattered all over

#Dossier

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djgblogger-blog · 6 years

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Should I kill spiders in my home? An entomologist explains why not to

http://bit.ly/2rMaXt6

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He comes in peace. Matt Bertone, CC BY-ND

I know it may be hard to convince you, but let me try: Don’t kill the next spider you see in your home.

Why? Because spiders are an important part of nature and our indoor ecosystem – as well as being fellow organisms in their own right.

People like to think of their dwellings as safely insulated from the outside world, but many types of spiders can be found inside. Some are accidentally trapped, while others are short-term visitors. Some species even enjoy the great indoors, where they happily live out their lives and make more spiders. These arachnids are usually secretive, and almost all you meet are neither aggressive nor dangerous. And they may be providing services like eating pests – some even eat other spiders.

A cobweb spider dispatches some prey that got snagged in its web. Matt Bertone, CC BY-ND

My colleagues and I conducted a visual survey of 50 North Carolina homes to inventory just which arthropods live under our roofs. Every single house we visited was home to spiders. The most common species we encountered were cobweb spiders and cellar spiders.

A cellar spider, sometimes called daddy longlegs (not to be confused with a harvestman). Matt Bertone, CC BY-ND

Both build webs where they lie in wait for prey to get caught. Cellar spiders sometimes leave their webs to hunt other spiders on their turf, mimicking prey to catch their cousins for dinner.

Although they are generalist predators, apt to eat anything they can catch, spiders regularly capture nuisance pests and even disease-carrying insects – for example, mosquitoes. There’s even a species of jumping spider that prefers to eat blood-filled mosquitoes in African homes. So killing a spider doesn’t just cost the arachnid its life, it may take an important predator out of your home.

It’s natural to fear spiders. They have lots of legs and almost all are venomous - though the majority of species have venom too weak to cause issues in humans, if their fangs can pierce our skin at all. Even entomologists themselves can fall prey to arachnophobia. I know a few spider researchers who overcame their fear by observing and working with these fascinating creatures. If they can do it, so can you!

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An arachnologist’s story of growing up terrified of spiders but ultimately becoming fascinated by them.

Spiders are not out to get you and actually prefer to avoid humans; we are much more dangerous to them than vice versa. Bites from spiders are extremely rare. Although there are a few medically important species like widow spiders and recluses, even their bites are uncommon and rarely cause serious issues.

If you truly can’t stand that spider in your house, apartment, garage, or wherever, instead of smashing it, try to capture it and release it outside. It’ll find somewhere else to go, and both parties will be happier with the outcome.

But if you can stomach it, it’s OK to have spiders in your home. In fact, it’s normal. And frankly, even if you don’t see them, they’ll still be there. So consider a live-and-let-live approach to the next spider you encounter.

Matt Bertone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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