Forget iPhones or Nintendo Switches, children in parts of the Philippines rely on a completely ... [+] different source of entertainment. Hint: It involves a venomous animal.gettyIf you were to attend school on the island of Mindanaothe second largest island in the Philippinesyou might notice that some of the boys have matchboxes in their pockets. Inside the matchboxes, you wouldnt find matches, however. Youd find derby spiderswhich is a generic name used to describe various species of spiders used in the animal blood sport of spider wrestling.Spider wrestling, as it is traditionally practiced in the Philippines, involves putting two female spiders at opposing edges of a narrow stick (one that resembles a long chopstick). The spiders race towards each other, meeting in the middle of the stick, and engage in combat until one spider emerges victoriouseither by knocking the spider off of the stick, injuring the spider or wrapping it in a cocoon of spider silk.The most common type of spider used in Mindanaoan spider wrestling, according to one research paper, is Neoscona vigilans, whose common name is the brown-legged spider or tiger-tiger.Neoscona vigilans is an orb-weaving spider that inhabits areas such as agricultural fields, gardens and forested environments. The species is nocturnal, hunting its prey during twilight and typically consuming it by morning. Orb-weaving spiders are known for crafting intricate and highly organized webs to hunt prey. The structure of its web varies throughout the year, with changes in its angle, height above the ground, line density and magnetic orientation, all influenced by seasonal shifts. Despite these variations, the spider maintains the core symmetrical pattern of the web.The school children who capture these spiders arent concerned with the spiders web-building abilities, however. They instead seek out orb weavers who seem most aggressive.How do they identify the spiders that will win in battle? One rule of thumb has to do with where the spider resides when captured. According to prevailing wisdom, spiders captured on or near electric power lines are particularly aggressive. But its hard to find these spiders. Most spiders are captured in trees and grasslands.Then theres the matter of training a spider, once captured, to have success in battle. To this end, spider owners have developed all types of rituals. Some try to beef their spider up on milk and honey before the battle. Others use dextrose, plum fruit, coconut milk and even duck egg soup. Still others prefer to purposely starve their spider before a fight in the hope that it will make the spider more aggressive.Moreover, spider gamers agree that training a spider before it battles is a necessary step to give the spider the best odds of winning. Heres how researchers have described this process:They need exercise in the form of fighting with another spider. During the training, the spider will be placed on a stick with a dead spider at the other end. The spider will eat the dead spider, however, before it will be done eating the dead spider, it should be taken from the stick. This will provoke the spider to bite because it was not yet done eating. Again, the spider is put out to walk on the stick and it will catch the dead spider. So, when the spider is put in a box, opening the box is a signal that it is already feeding time. Thus, for the trained spider, the time of the game is also feeding time.Finally, the fight begins. Groups of people huddle around the spider and place bets on which spider they think will win the fight. Fights may last as little as 30 seconds with aggressive spiders and as long as five minutes if the spiders are more tame. Once a winner is declared, the spiders are checked and treated for any injuries they may have sustained during the fight. Sometimes, injured spiders are released back into their natural habitat to mend themselves and then collected by the owner a few days later.Are you an animal lover who loves your pet and would never dream of breeding them for battle? Take the science-backed Pet Personality Test to know how well you know your little friend.