Spider fighting is common in the Philippines, especially with children. As the rainy season comes in, kids in the Philippines get excited because they know it’s “spider season.” RD has also been bitten by the spider fever and has asked the help of the men at the farm to look for spiders for him. This is heightened by the fact that he is fascinated by these wonderful, intriguing creatures. 

During the spider season, fields, storerooms, and back alleyways are combed carefully in the hopes of looking for that ultimate fighter who, for some, would bring them some money, while for others, the fight itself is the ultimate high. Spider fighting becomes a lucrative business during this season as some sell “good fighters” and others bid on their favorite before a fight commences.

However, for RD, this was not a matter of seeing which of the spiders would win, but rather, a matter of curiosity. His fascination with spiders started after we bought a book called “Do All Spiders Spin Webs?” at a local second-hand bookstore. Having read the book repeatedly from cover-to-cover, he was excited at the prospect of seeing the spiders up-close for the first time.

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After his curiosity was satisfied, we let them go among the brushes in the surrounding area in our garden. This was a wonderful way to teach RD a lesson on the preservation of these important creatures and how they help the environment.

For more info on spider fighting in the Philippines, please click here.