New ‘Ballista’ Spider Discovers Rapid Catapult‑Like Trap to Capture Green Ants in Australian Rainforest

Sat Jul 11 2026 17:28:51 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Scientists unveil a tiny Arachnid that uses a spring‑loaded silk trap to fling green tree ants into its web, a unique hunting strategy found in northern Queensland’s rainforests.

A newly discovered spider in northern Queensland’s rainforests has evolved a spring‑loaded silk trap that catapults a single green ant deep into its web, using forces up to fifteen times that experienced by jet pilots. The tiny spider, informally called the "ballista", builds a cone‑shaped scaffold of tension lines beneath leaf surfaces and retains it during the day. When an aggressive green tree ant bites the lure, the trap springs, launching the ant into the web with extreme acceleration. Researchers suggest the spider’s unique system may lure ants with pheromones, making it the only known spider that specialises in prey‑specific prey capture induced by the prey itself.

New ‘Ballista’ Spider Discovers Rapid Catapult‑Like Trap to Capture Green Ants in Australian Rainforest

Scientists have uncovered a new spider species that uses a spring‑loaded silk trap to catch a single species of aggressive green tree ant in the remote rainforests of northern Queensland, Australia.

Ballista spider weaving a cone‑shaped silk trap — The spider’s catapult‑like structure is clear in this close‑up.

The spider, which is currently unnamed, has been nicknamed the "ballista" by researchers due to the speed and force with which it can fling prey into its web. The trap relies on a scaffold of dozens of tension lines and a thin silk layer that springs when an ant bites the lure.

Lead researcher Prof Ajay Narendra explains that the launch can generate up to 15 times the most extreme g‑forces experienced by jet pilots, giving the prey a rapid, high‑energy boost into the spider’s bigger, retentive web above.

Testing revealed that only the green tree ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, is caught by this mechanism, even when other nocturnal ants were released nearby. Researchers suspect the spider emits specific pheromones into the trap to attract and provoke these ants alone, making it the first example of a spider’s web design being triggered by prey rather than by the predator.

The study, published in Current Biology, shows that the ballista spider remains hidden beneath leaf undersides during daylight, then descends about 50 cm after dusk to set the trap and wait for the ant’s bite. Once triggered, the ant is propelled into a safety zone where the spider can safely feed without confronting aggressive ant colonies.

This discovery not only highlights the remarkable hunting strategies of spiders but also provides insight into predator‑prey dynamics in tropical ecosystems.

New ‘Ballista’ Spider Discovers Rapid Catapult‑Like Trap to Capture Green Ants in Australian Rainforest

Scientists unveil a tiny Arachnid that uses a spring‑loaded silk trap to fling green tree ants into its web, a unique hunting strategy found in northern Queensland’s rainforests.

New ‘Ballista’ Spider Discovers Rapid Catapult‑Like Trap to Capture Green Ants in Australian Rainforest

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