Thistle Spider
Where does a female thistle spider sleep? Anywhere she wants!
An eight-legged arthropod known for spinning a particular, fine silk highly valued in both textiles (for its sheen, durability, and breathability) and industry (for its tensile strength or as a raw ingredient for certain industrial compounds).
Basic Information
Anatomy
The thistle spider gets its name from its resemblance to a thistle flower, spiny and purple. Like the flower, the spines are meant for defense. Their barbed tips penetrate and cling to skin. As their host moves, the barbs break and release an irritant into the surrounding tissue.
Genetics and Reproduction
Silk is only produced by females, who only spin webs in order to lay eggs.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Their thick carapaces and chitenous spines demand a high-protein diet. They prefer insects such as Sandhoppers and wasps, but will also feast on small rodents and, in the very leanest of times, certain mineral- and protein-rich fungi such as Orbshrooms.
Thistle spiders don't spin webs to trap their prey. Instead, they weave hiding shelters out of grass, which they then use to give themselves an even closer resemblance to the blossoms that give them their name. These shelters are held together by an adhesive made from the spider's saliva and the chewed up stems of the grass.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
All of Argentii, from the Icelands all the way south to the Spicelands and the Rain Forest.
There is life on the Caldera. I've seen it. We got blown off course in the midst of a nasty storm and nearly ran around! As we heeled over toward open waters again, I was on the glass. Looking at the shore -- for how often is anyone ever that close? -- I saw them. They looked like flowers there on the beach, but no flower can grow in that poison sand. Then, I saw them move, and I knew. The question we all asked without speaking...what could they possibly be eating?
Legs: 24-28 in. (overall)
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