Monday, October 29, 2018

#Drawtober2018 29-Black Widow

In D&D, there are spider-elf hybrids known as "driders."  Here I present a female drider mourning her mate, tragically crushed in a cave-in.

Female black widow spiders are notorious for eating their mates, but studies have shown that if the female is well-fed, she is extremely unlikely to eat her mate.  It makes sense when you consider that the black widow's venom is limited, and if she squanders it by poisoning a mate, then she may be incapable of defending herself during a time when she really needs to protect her vulnerable young.  A fertile female will advertise how well-fed she is with her pheromones, and male black widows will avoid poorly-fed females if given the choice. 

I'm not suggesting that black widow spiders are cuddly; they're still deadly bugs, after all.  However, it's not impossible to imagine that spider-people might have genuine feelings for each other besides food. 

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