Griper Spider
The griper spider is found in Groley woods. These spiders are not web builders. Prefering to live under rocks, or fallen logs. A hunting spider, each has it's own range, within five feet of it's home where it hunts for prey. Extremely territorial, a Griper spider only allows another within it's territory during the mating season. During any other time, if two Griper spiders come across each other, they will fight to the death. With the exception of a male facing the larger female, where on, the male will try to get away.
A dull grey in colour, males have a purple arrow shaped mark on the top of their bodies and are smaller than the female. A female reaches about an two and a half inches in size, males only a two inches. They hunt other insects, small rodents and each other. More than willing to remove competition for food and territory by eating their own kind. Griper spiders, besides their eight legs, have two shorter limbs just below it's head with pincers.
When hunting, they get up close to their prey, and catch hold of it with it's pincers and mandibles. Holding onto the prey as tightly as possible as they use the stingers on the back of their body to poision their prey. After the creature is paralized, they are dragged back to the Griper's home to be consumed. A Griper's poision sting is rather potent and can kill small children, and make adults very sick.
In Summer a male Griper approaches the females with some offering of
food. Trying to keep the female compliant. Once the female accepts the
food, the male continues to try to keep her compliant as he attempts to
mate with her. Angering the female during mating, after all, can lead to
the smaller male's death. After mating, the female finds a
suitable hollow. After discovering her hollow, she then kills some prey,
preferably a rodent and lays her many eggs within the carcass before burrying
it in the hollow with twigs, pepples and leaves. Then abaondons the nest.
A week after being laid, the eggs hatch and begin to consume the carcass,
often turning on each other for more food before survivers finally escape
the 'nest' to go find territories of it's own. It takes the hatched spiders
four weeks to reach adult size, and they are already producing venom by
the time they hatch. Due to their poision being a danger to small children,
people often try to find these nests to destroy them before the spiders
within can hatch.
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