Newly discovered Australian ballista spider uses spring-loaded silk trap aimed at green tree ants
Scientists think the spider might draw the aggressive ants into attacking the trap, so the ants set off the catapult themselves, according to Mongabay.
A newly discovered ballista spider from Australia has a hunting method that is among the most specialised ever seen.
The spider does not go after its meals. It sets up a silk trap loaded like a spring, and the trap seems to be aimed at just one species, the aggressive green tree ant.
According to Mongabay, scientists think the spider might even draw the ants into attacking the trap, so that the ants set off the catapult themselves.
Mongabay reports that this is the first known spider with a web built for a single prey species, and the first in which the prey sets off the trap.
