Part I
A Letter from the Black Widow to Her Mate (Which she intends to Cannibalize)
Dear mate,
We have not met yet, but I am looking forward to our meeting. Though our partnership will be brief, I hope it will be fruitful and plentiful. I have no particular desire nor proclivity towards one male or another – besides the inclination towards healthy and an uninjured mate, I have no opinion of what my mate looks like. Genetics makes it so that we know what our bodies need to do, and that is all we need to do to strive towards a better future for our species.
The chances that our offspring make it beyond us is the overarching point of this entire exercise, in fact. Many of them will die in the process of becoming an adult, and some will be devoured by their siblings. Their death will ensure the survival of the stronger of the hatched ones, the ones who can endure more. This is the facts of life. I am here to watch over them in the beginnings of their hatching – and to see that they have a chance at survival. The rest is up to them. The hatchlings determine how long they may stay alive – they must fight for it.
You remember this from your own hatching, do you not? Seeing your siblings disperse outside of the egg sac and getting a glimpse of the world as you now see it through your many eyes. Seeing the light filter in and crawling into the day. The experience of seeing a sibling being eaten in front of you as you flee for safety. Seeing your mother, the first time before you never see her again. It is an experience all hatchlings have. That day is one of my many treasured memories. I like to believe that I hold the remnants of some of my siblings inside of me, still. If they could not carry on, I will for them.
Sometimes circumstances make it so that some hatchlings are bigger than other, stronger than others. Perhaps that is unfair to the weaker of the bunch. I see it in another way. I see it as chance for the stronger of the bunch to carry on the weaker hatchlings as well, just in another manner. They would have been unable to defend themselves in the wild.
It is natural for us to imbibe of the other. Spiders have eaten other spiders for some time. As I have said, sometimes it is what needs to be done. But we do find sustenance in other life. We hunt and eat other lifeforms before we turn to our own kind. We must find ways to feed ourselves, or we will starve. We will die without a way to feed ourselves, so we must find a way to feed. It is a necessity.
Perhaps it is the next stage of life that is the most satisfying for you. I would not blame you. Living in solitary has always suited myself, and it seems to be the best fit for most hatchlings. It seems that it would be overcrowded with another spider around. And catching prey would be much more difficult. Most do not prefer to share their kill. Catching and killing prey has always been thrilling to me – instinctual. Setting up a web for flies, beetles, or grasshoppers to land in, or if I am lucky something even bigger will end up caught. They are a little trickier to subdue but they are always worth the trouble. Mice are nice – I have caught small mice that were particularly tasty. If you are patient enough you can catch targets that are bigger than you are with just a bit of cunning, and venom.
But sometimes venom is not enough. Fighting and biting is not enough. There are those out there that can overcome us and can threaten our existence. I have briefly mentioned this before – when discussing the hatchlings that did not make it to adulthood. But, as you know, there are other factors that will kill a spider before it is time. Predators of the spider that know ways of exposing the hatchlings and the grown spider’s weaknesses. We must make sure that they are not able to do so. The preying mantis and birds of many kind that have learned how to prey upon the Black Widow. We must not let them overcome us. Therefore, we must impart this wisdom to the hatchlings. When they leave the web, they must understand the importance of listening to their instincts and knowing how to avoid the shadow of a bird. We can facilitate learning in those ways, so when they are hatched, they understand the ways of the world.
Finally, mating. It is what we are meeting for. We will mate to produce our hatchlings. Our cycle begins with it – and we can not have our hatchlings without it. Our offspring depends on this. When we mate, we will generate a sac of eggs. Hundreds of them. And that is when I will have to start watching over our offspring. Where will you be, you may be wondering? Not a question that needs an answer for now. You will always be near me for I will always carry you.
And with that, I will depart. I will see you soon.
Cordially,
The Black Widow.
Part II
The Hunt
The Black Widow Spider lives a mostly solitary life. Her last mate did not survive long after mating with her; she ate him shortly afterward. He was deemed unnecessary after his contribution. She leaves no trace of her existence, afterwards, as always, and heads towards her web. As she spins her webs, she thinks of the eggs that she lay not too long ago. Hundreds of her children that she must protect from predators and from those who might harm them. There are many creatures out in the night that may think to try to harm them, and it is her job to watch over to ensure they do not get the chance. She knows with certainty that there are many insects that she must watch out for. The tall, green, and long armed preying mantis for one. If she is not careful the mantis could prey on her children, and possibly herself.
There are other battles she must be careful to win. The web she is making has been torn apart several times by a large being. She has hidden this one and is quite sure it will not be found. Her egg sac is also hidden here, as well, so she must make sure that the being does not find it as she does not want it to attack her offspring. There is less room in the structure she is in – it has a spike at the bottom, but a gap at the top where she could make webs. It was perfect for her nest. It could support the webs, and her egg sac.
The Black Widow has not seen the being for some time but that does not mean she can let down her guard. She still is hesitant and looks cautiously for large spindly like appendages. The last time she saw it had destroyed her whole web, and it had taken the Black Widow days to reconstruct it. Then she had run into a mate. He was used as much needed nutrition to help her afterwards.
To keep herself strong so she can keep defending her web, and her children. Her eight eyes take in the sights around her as she assesses her surroundings. Her web is positioned safely and is strong. She must find food to keep herself sustained. But leaving the nest would ensure death for her offspring. So waiting is an inevitability. So, the Black Widow silently waits. There are many days where all she can do is wait. She can not leave the web because the egg sac needs looking over and she needs to gather all the prey she can for feeding. She is left to waiting for prey to come to her. It does not always turn up, but sometimes she can produce prey for herself that will feed for weeks.
She is finally rewarded for her patience when a fly buzzes past her nest, and lands upon her nest. It struggles valiantly, but that is when she strikes. She sinks her fangs into it, and venom flows into its body leaving it immobilized. When the fly is finally stiff, she wraps it up in webbing and drags it into a corner of her web where she will be able to eat it later. For now, she has won the battle against her prey. A fly is not the biggest prey she has ever caught it is something to feed upon. But it will help sustain her for now and will help ensure she survives to protect her offspring.
