Light Eater

Light Eaters are a species of spider endemic to Flower Island on the OPTC. This are commonly related to tarantulas due to their form and size, yet is unknown if they are truly related.
== Description ==
The spider is one of the largest creature of the island, apart of humans, with an average size of 10 cm of body size and 20 cm of leg span.Their body is black and white dark green tones on its back. They have two short pedipalps on their front that they use as arms to handle prey. Near them there is two fangs that don't have poison. In addition a very weird adaptation can be found under their mouth, a long black bait called beetle leg. As it's name indicates this bait looks like a beatle leg and is used to attract Gardeners larva. This leg is retractil, so to be able to take the larva to its mouth.
Surprisingly this spider doesn't have the ability to produce great amounts of weeb and is force to hunt by sight.
== Life Cycle ==
The general lifespan of this spiders is of 30 years for female and 8 for male.
=== Egg - youth ===
Eggs can be found inside of burrows, covered on a weed as protection. They are of a light red colour and viscous. On a single burrow there can be around 5 eggs, a very low amount when compared with other arachnids. The eggs expand 2 month before hatching. Once they do they live on the burrow being taken care of by the mother. After a year and 3 months they mature into adults and are forced to get out of the burrow and look for food on their own as well.
=== Adulthood ===
Once on their own female light eater will go on to make their own burrow under the roots of trees or appropriate one. They cover the burrow on weeb and will live on them for the rest of their lives. While males keep living on their mother burrow for 4 more years, bringing food to this one. After this they go into the island looking for a matte. Males bring Gardeners to the females burrow as a gift, if the female accept it they will be able to copulate and pass descendancy.
==== Hunting ====
Males hunt Island Gardeners larva on the flowers where they can be find. They junt mainly at night waiting for the natural light of the larva to give out their location, then they will clim the flower on the other side of the larva and would extend their bait infront of them. Thinking that it is a beetle leg the larva will bite it. Once this happens the spider will retract the bait back towards its mouth and eat the larvae, or just kill it to carry it to a burrow.
Female attempt the first strategy, but if it fails, due to them having being bigger and harder to hide, the go for a more aggressive from attack, grabbing the larva with thier pedipalps and killing it.
==== Territorialism - Communal behavior ====
On normal circumstances this animal are very territorial and can come to kill each other if they encounter. Young female often kill an older one for their burrow due to the lack of space. Yet the reason seems to be the limited amount of food on the island, as they have not showed aggression when the gardener population is high. On this situation they even have been seen cooperating. On this situation female become less aggressive towards male and create an harem of them that feed her. At the same time this increases the population.
Category:Fauna
Category:Traveler's Era