Scientists have discovered a tiny spider in the remote rainforests of far north Queensland that uses a spring-loaded trap to catch its prey. The spider has been called the ballista spider because its trap works like an ancient Roman weapon that launched stones. It targets one type of prey, the green tree ant, which is known for being territorial and aggressive. Researchers say the spider uses a special scent to lure the ants closer.
At night, the spider builds an anchor point on a leaf, branch or the forest floor. It then spends up to four hours spinning as many as 60 tight silk lines into a cone shape near the ground. The spider wraps the cone with more silk before moving upwards to wait. When a green tree ant bites the cone, the trap breaks away from its anchor point.
The ant is launched more than 30cm into the air and becomes tangled in the spider’s main web. The spider then wraps the ant in silk before eating it. Scientists believe this clever method helps the spider catch dangerous ants one at a time while staying away from their nests and trails. The spider has not yet been given its official scientific name, but it belongs to the genus Propostira.
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