Forest Silk Spiders
Basic Information
Anatomy
Forest silk spiders are large spiders that grow to be the size of house cats. They create a thick, pliable silk that they have been domesticated for for at least five hundred years. Over time they have been selectively bred to lack venom and the ability to bite.
Genetics and Reproduction
Only a few breeding females are kept on each farm at any one time and are selectively bred to the silk-spinning males at regular intervals. The female is introduced to the male's pen and left for three days. She is then returned to her own pen and should lay eggs within another three days. These eggs are approximately the size of a chicken egg and clutches usually number ten to twenty eggs.
Growth Rate & Stages
The farmers take a small number of eggs from each clutch and place them in a hatchery, while the rest are culled so as to keep the population reasonable. The eggs take four months to hatch, at which point a mouse-sized spider will emerge. These spiders are then placed in small pens and allowed to mature. At approximately six months old they will begin to spin webs, at which point the sex is able to be determined. Male forest silk spiders produce a thicker, more pliable silk than the female. Females are typically sold, added to the brood stock if needed, or sometimes used to produce a less profitable variety of silk.
After approximately one year the spider is fully matured and its silk is able to be collected. It is moved to a new pen where it is encouraged to build its webs. Every five days, farmers collect the webs. For the next five to fifteen years the spiders will produce silk. Once the silk begins to decline in quality, the spiders are retired to a large group enclosure where they will finish out their lives.
Ecology and Habitats
The forest silk spider is native to the thick forests of northern Nairiume, but wild ones are now rare. They once lived off small rodents, though domesticated ones are fed a meat slop due to having lost the ability to bite and hunt.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Forest silk spiders need to consume meat. They were once known to hunt small rodents, such as mice and squirrels, but during the domestication process their venom and ability to bite was bred out of them. Now they are fed a meat-based gruel that is fed to them in troughs. It is unpleasant for the farmers, but keeps the spiders healthy.
Biological Cycle
During the cold freezes of winter the spiders often slow down their spinning process and will refuse to breed. Farmers collect the silk every seven days instead of five in the winter months and only breed in the spring and summer.
Behaviour
Though once known to be unpredictable, forest silk spiders are now quite passive and easy-going. Some farmers claim they are playful and even affectionate, like dogs with twice as many legs and odd bodies.
Additional Information
Social Structure
When retired silk spiders are placed in group enclosures they become rather social, all group members coming to greet the newcomer. They also interact readily with the farmers who care for them, and most farmers place windows in spider enclosures to allow them to interact with each other while still allowing the farmer to monitor silk production for each spider.
When female spiders are brought into a male's enclosure, he is often more interested in socializing with her than breeding. This is why females are often seen to be the ones encouraging mating. Females tend to be more solitary and don't often interact with other female spiders in the pens beside them.
Domestication
Forest silk spiders have been domesticated for nearly five hundred years, after their silk was found to make exellent material for weaving once properly dried.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
The silk from forest silk spiders is used to make fabric for clothing once properly prepared so as to lose its stickiness and gain more pliability. It is most commonly used in breeches worn in Nairiume, allowing for a snug yet comfortable fit that flexes with the wearer's movements.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Forest silk spiders now found almost exclusively on silk farms in Nairiume.
Average Intelligence
Farmers claim some spiders are highly intelligent, while others are not so much. Females are believed to be the smarter of the two, or at least betetr able to adapt to the regular routines of the farms.
