Mother Nature and Our Halloween Costumes

Lately, while rocking Sylvie, I have been riveted by the excellent Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species. It is the most fascinating book I have read in a long, long time and that it is a non-fiction work of evolutionary biology and anthropology makes that fact even more surprising to me. The official Amazon review asserts that it "should be required reading for anyone who happens to be a human being." I couldn't agree more. And I have a lot to say about the book. But that will have to wait because the purpose of this post is to announce our Halloween costumes for this year. The idea came from this passage in Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's book:

The prize for "extreme maternal care" goes to one of the various matriphagous (yes, it means mother-eating) spiders. After laying her eggs, an Australian social spider (Diaea ergandros) continues to store nutrients in a new batch of eggs -- odd, oversize eggs, far too large to pass through her oviducts, and lacking genetic instructions. Since she breeds only once, what are they for?

These eggs are for eating, not for laying. But to be eaten by whom? As the spiderlings mature and begin to mill about, the mother becomes strangely subdued. She starts to turn mushy -- but in a liquefying rather than a sentimental way. As her tissue melts, her ravenous young literally suck her up, starting with her legs and eventually devouring the protein-rich eggs dissolving within her.

Yes, we are going as spiders. We're going to take a little artistic license, though. I'll go as a black widow, David as the poor black widower, and the kids will be Australian social spiders. I'm thinking we could perform a little interpretive dance on the front lawn for the trick-or-treaters. First, I imagine, David and I will simulate mating. Then I shall devour him and lay my eggs. Perhaps we'll have hidden the children under white sheets under a pile of leaves or something. The fact that Sylvie is not yet ambulatory will make it easier to hide her than Luke, who is not amenable to sitting still for long periods of time. Of course, Luke will do a better job of emerging and devouring my legs. 

I've already starting work on the costumes, with the help of our lovely babysitter, Holly. I sit there, rocking Sylvie and thinking up designs, and Holly gets to do all the work. The first hat we came up with, seen here on Sylvie, makes her look more like a Rastafarian than a spider, so I have devised a new design for her which I hope to put together later today. I am pleased with Luke's hat, which I will feature in the next post.

Comments

[Pam]

Mother Nature is my all-time favourite book about motherhood, no question. I have bought multiple copies to give/loan -- I don't understand why it's not more widely known and talked about. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

[Sarah @ Mum In Bloom]

These costumes are great and I love your interpretive dance idea! I think our 3year old son will be a spider just like Luke for Halloween - such an easy, cute, cheap costume! I can't craft anything but could likely do this one. I also loved the dinasaur costume from last year. Will add the Mother Nature book to my ever growing reading list :)