science
Australian spider builds conical trap that flings green tree ants into its web
@NewScientist reported that researchers documented a Propostira spider building a conical snare that launches only green tree ants nearly 30 centimeters into its web. The trap produces accelerations of 1367 meters per second squared. The study was published in Current Biology.
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A spider in the genus Propostira builds a conical snare trap that launches green tree ants into its web; researchers recorded accelerations up to 1367 meters per second squared. @NewScientist reported the finding from fieldwork in Australia. The unnamed species, nicknamed the ballista spider, targets only green tree ants of the species Oecophylla smaragdina.
Greg Anderson at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute first observed an ant being catapulted from such a trap in the far north of Queensland in 2022. Ajay Narendra and Pranav Joshi at Macquarie University in Sydney spent 10 days in early 2023 filming the nocturnal spiders with cameras running at 5000 to 7000 frames per second.
The spiders hide under leaves by day and begin trap construction shortly after dusk, a process that can last up to four hours.
Each trap consists of 15 to 60 tension lines attached to a leaf and formed into a cone. The spider applies a chemical that prompts green tree ants to bite the structure with their mandibles. As the ant struggles, the lines release and fling the prey nearly 30 centimeters upward, where it becomes entangled in the spider's main web.
Narendra said the lift removes the ant from its colony's path and prevents counterattacks. The same chemical and trap design do not affect other ant species. 2026.04.066.
