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Description
While species of Giant Spiders are more abundant in the Southern Continents, the northern regions still contain a few species of them. The reason for their small numbers is the fact that these regions experience cold winters, which do not occur farther down south. Most of these species cannot survive such cold temperatures, but the ones that have reached the northern regions have adapted to it. All of them take the route of hibernation, dropping themselves into a months long slumber that will end when the temperatures rise once again. Prior to the winter months, they will gorge themselves on food, and then find proper shelter for them to sleep in. Most of these include burrows, caves and alcoves in large buildings or structures. At that point they will web themselves up in a thick, sturdy cocoon and fall into hibernation. As long as their cocoon remains unbroken, they will survive to awaken in the springtime. Once the weather improves, they will burst from their cocoons and resume their active lives.

The most common species of Giant Spiders are the Ogre Spiders. They stand as tall as an average Dryad (or human), and possess arms that are almost as tall as their own bodies! They have patches of thick hair around their neck and thorax, for what purpose they serve, I don't know. Their postures are in a permanent hunch, which allows their upper limbs to reach the ground so that they can travel on all eights. Most of the time, they are perfectly fine with walking on their lower four limbs, moving about in an almost human fashion. In fact, their arrangement of limbs and eyes, combined with their body shape has allowed them to be confused with people from a distance. It is partly the reason they are called Ogre spiders, as they are said to imitate humans so that they may snare them in their web. Though this does seem like a thing, it actually is not. Ogre spiders do not exclusively prey on humans, nor do they try to mimic them. There indeed have been attacks, but it is for an entirely different purpose.

Ogre spiders make their homes in high up places. Those who dwell within the forests will spin webbing within the branches, bending the branches and connecting the silk so that it makes a protective nest. With nests up and above, they are less exposed to predators, but that is not the sole reason for their property choices. Ogre spiders hunt by ambush, waiting for prey to pass below so they may snare them. Using their webbing, they will create nets for them to hold in their upper limbs. When prey walks by, they will lurch down and throw their net upon the victim. Once snared, they will pull up the prey and inject it with digestive venom. The victim is then wrapped up tight and placed deep in the nest. Eventually the venom will liquefy the prey and they can suck the juices out of the cocoon. Cocooned victims can be stored for long periods of time, and Ogre spiders will catch an abundance of prey in order to have stores during the slow times. Ogre spiders are opportunistic, but prefer to hunt prey that is smaller than them. Larger prey can put up a violent struggle, and they are not fans of that.

Where human/Ogre spider conflicts arise is when Ogre spiders make their homes in unwanted places. Though they prefer the trees, any structure will do if they are in a pinch. In many cases, Ogre spiders will find bridges as suitable housing. Tall, arching bridges can provide a nice shelter, where they can spin their nest in the arches below. Travelers can tell that an Ogre spider has taken residence on a bridge by the sheets of webbing that stick to the sides and the strands of silk that connect to the pillars as anchors. Rivers that run below the bridges give them an ample food supply, as they use their nets to catch fish. In all honesty, Ogre spiders find bridges to be quite appealing, and multiple spiders can take residence on a bridge if it is big enough. This creates a problem when someone wants to use the bridge for its intended purpose. People who walk over the bridge will send vibrations through it, which is amplified by the webbing and alerts the Ogre spider. Due to their ambush tactics and preference for high places, Ogre spiders are not used to having other creatures above them. When a person or buggy travels above their homes, they panic and assume they are being attacked. The Ogre spider will hurry from its nest and confront the person above. Often this startles the traveler, which in turn startles them and they attack. They will use their nets and webbing to disorient the person, and they will make all their efforts to either cocoon the intruder or throw them off the bridge. Chucking an attacker down below makes them feel safer and in control of the situation. It also allows them to leap down on them and net them up. Though they do not like larger prey, they will consume an intruder they have captured or wounded. At that point it would be silly to waste food.

It is this tendency of theirs that makes them quite disliked by humans and other sentients. To top it off, Ogre spiders can make their homes in abandoned buildings, barns and towers. This leads to the point where towns and villages will band together to kill the invading creatures, which is a solution, but not a very nice one. Ogre spiders can instead be scared away from the bridge, forcing them to make their homes elsewhere. One solution I have seen is having large amounts of people or carts constantly running back and forth on the bridge, creating a commotion. With the sheer amount of people and moving objects present, the spider will be too scared to strike and instead flee. When the bridge is unoccupied, it will return. With that, this method must be done several times, with the people tearing down the nest each time it flees. Eventually the spider will see the bridge as a terrible home and relocate elsewhere. Unfortunately this method is time consuming, and many resort to killing the poor things. Ogre spiders can be deterred from the bridge outright if it sees enough heavy traffic, or if the architecture makes it impossible to build a nest. One can spot bridges where Ogre spiders have been a problem, as they will often have sloppy additions slapped into the arches so that it is no longer the right size and shape for a nest.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------

Boy howdy is this one a oldy.

Description
While species of Giant Spiders are more abundant in the Southern Continents, the northern regions still contain a few species of them. The reason for their small numbers is the fact that these regions experience cold winters, which do not occur farther down south. Most of these species cannot survive such cold temperatures, but the ones that have reached the northern regions have adapted to it. All of them take the route of hibernation, dropping themselves into a months long slumber that will end when the temperatures rise once again. Prior to the winter months, they will gorge themselves on food, and then find proper shelter for them to sleep in. Most of these include burrows, caves and alcoves in large buildings or structures. At that point they will web themselves up in a thick, sturdy cocoon and fall into hibernation. As long as their cocoon remains unbroken, they will survive to awaken in the springtime. Once the weather improves, they will burst from their cocoons and resume their active lives.

The most common species of Giant Spiders are the Ogre Spiders. They stand as tall as an average Dryad (or human), and possess arms that are almost as tall as their own bodies! They have patches of thick hair around their neck and thorax, for what purpose they serve, I don't know. Their postures are in a permanent hunch, which allows their upper limbs to reach the ground so that they can travel on all eights. Most of the time, they are perfectly fine with walking on their lower four limbs, moving about in an almost human fashion. In fact, their arrangement of limbs and eyes, combined with their body shape has allowed them to be confused with people from a distance. It is partly the reason they are called Ogre spiders, as they are said to imitate humans so that they may snare them in their web. Though this does seem like a thing, it actually is not. Ogre spiders do not exclusively prey on humans, nor do they try to mimic them. There indeed have been attacks, but it is for an entirely different purpose.

Ogre spiders make their homes in high up places. Those who dwell within the forests will spin webbing within the branches, bending the branches and connecting the silk so that it makes a protective nest. With nests up and above, they are less exposed to predators, but that is not the sole reason for their property choices. Ogre spiders hunt by ambush, waiting for prey to pass below so they may snare them. Using their webbing, they will create nets for them to hold in their upper limbs. When prey walks by, they will lurch down and throw their net upon the victim. Once snared, they will pull up the prey and inject it with digestive venom. The victim is then wrapped up tight and placed deep in the nest. Eventually the venom will liquefy the prey and they can suck the juices out of the cocoon. Cocooned victims can be stored for long periods of time, and Ogre spiders will catch an abundance of prey in order to have stores during the slow times. Ogre spiders are opportunistic, but prefer to hunt prey that is smaller than them. Larger prey can put up a violent struggle, and they are not fans of that.

Where human/Ogre spider conflicts arise is when Ogre spiders make their homes in unwanted places. Though they prefer the trees, any structure will do if they are in a pinch. In many cases, Ogre spiders will find bridges as suitable housing. Tall, arching bridges can provide a nice shelter, where they can spin their nest in the arches below. Travelers can tell that an Ogre spider has taken residence on a bridge by the sheets of webbing that stick to the sides and the strands of silk that connect to the pillars as anchors. Rivers that run below the bridges give them an ample food supply, as they use their nets to catch fish. In all honesty, Ogre spiders find bridges to be quite appealing, and multiple spiders can take residence on a bridge if it is big enough. This creates a problem when someone wants to use the bridge for its intended purpose. People who walk over the bridge will send vibrations through it, which is amplified by the webbing and alerts the Ogre spider. Due to their ambush tactics and preference for high places, Ogre spiders are not used to having other creatures above them. When a person or buggy travels above their homes, they panic and assume they are being attacked. The Ogre spider will hurry from its nest and confront the person above. Often this startles the traveler, which in turn startles them and they attack. They will use their nets and webbing to disorient the person, and they will make all their efforts to either cocoon the intruder or throw them off the bridge. Chucking an attacker down below makes them feel safer and in control of the situation. It also allows them to leap down on them and net them up. Though they do not like larger prey, they will consume an intruder they have captured or wounded. At that point it would be silly to waste food.

It is this tendency of theirs that makes them quite disliked by humans and other sentients. To top it off, Ogre spiders can make their homes in abandoned buildings, barns and towers. This leads to the point where towns and villages will band together to kill the invading creatures, which is a solution, but not a very nice one. Ogre spiders can instead be scared away from the bridge, forcing them to make their homes elsewhere. One solution I have seen is having large amounts of people or carts constantly running back and forth on the bridge, creating a commotion. With the sheer amount of people and moving objects present, the spider will be too scared to strike and instead flee. When the bridge is unoccupied, it will return. With that, this method must be done several times, with the people tearing down the nest each time it flees. Eventually the spider will see the bridge as a terrible home and relocate elsewhere. Unfortunately this method is time consuming, and many resort to killing the poor things. Ogre spiders can be deterred from the bridge outright if it sees enough heavy traffic, or if the architecture makes it impossible to build a nest. One can spot bridges where Ogre spiders have been a problem, as they will often have sloppy additions slapped into the arches so that it is no longer the right size and shape for a nest.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------

Boy howdy is this one a oldy.