Playing with spiders is a popular past time and hobby of many kids particularly in the provinces where many species of "toy" arachnids can be caught in homes, fields and mountains. Some people even make a living selling fighting exotic spiders to children near churches and public squares and making spider fighting a part of Philippine culture similar to the grown-up's addiction to sabong (cockfighting).

Tutubi, in his childhood at one time, got hooked on it but mostly with spiders caught at home, used a stick from a walis tingting (broom made from sticks of coconut leaves), pitted two spiders on a death match.

He espied a spiderman doing the same thing somewhere, and using using his Canon 50mm lens, took pictures of the eight-legged creature on stick with the other spider already dead and "mummified" with spiderweb.

meet Spiderman, locally known as gagamboy, playing with common Philippine spiders
spider wrestling over: gagamboy's printed shirt provided the colorful backdrop to the spider picture added with a nice bokeh courtesy of the canon prime lens

As close as Tutubi can get to the spider limited by the lens' minimum focusing distance and away from the danger the spider poses to the dragonfly


Note: Tutubi does not advocate nor promote catching spiders particularly the rare species, knowing the importance of spiders to ecology as well as the danger of the depletion of spider population in the Philippines can lead to to an increase in number of mosquitoes and other natural preys of spiders. Philippine spiders are mostly small, non-dangerous ones unlike the popular and venomous tarantulas and poisonous black widows usually seen in horror movies. Tarantulas can be bought in several exotic pet shops in Metro Manila.

Labels: Fauna, Flora and Fauna, Philippine Games