Australian ballista spider uses silk spring trap to hurl ants into its web
Researchers describe a newly found Australian spider, nicknamed the ballista spider, that builds a spring-loaded, cone-shaped silk trap to launch the green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) into its main web. The 5–6 mm spider braids 15–60 tension lines into a cone attached to the surface; when an ant bites the cone, the silk detaches and snaps shut, flinging the ant upward with extreme speed and energy. The spider appears to specialize on this single prey species, suggesting a highly specialized evolutionary adaptation, and researchers captured the behavior in Cape York Peninsula using high-speed cameras.