Scientists discovered that the Australian “ballista spider” uses a silk cone trap to catapult prey into its web, a feat of spider engineering never before observed.

Named for an ancient Roman crossbow-like weapon, the newly found “ballista” spider uses a springy snare to catch prey. By K. R. Callaway In the dead of night, a predator lays its traps in the ...

Learn how the newly discovered ballista spider builds a durable snare specialized in trapping a single ant species. A newly discovered spider species has developed a highly sophisticated trap that ...

A newly discovered spider in Australia builds a snare trap designed to catch a single species of ant, which launches the prey into its web with a g-force that would kill a human. Researchers have ...

The ballista spider builds sophisticated spring-loaded snares to catapult its prey. Newly discovered, the ballista spider rests underneath a leaf during the day. Scientists have witnessed the spider ...

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. The ballista spider ...