Overview
- Researchers published a peer-reviewed paper on 22 June 2026 documenting a previously undescribed Propostira spider that builds a spring-actuated cone to trap and fling prey.
- Field teams filmed the behavior with high-speed and infrared cameras during targeted rainforest stakeouts, recording the trap’s release at 5,000–7,000 frames per second.
- Measured kinematics show ants can be accelerated at up to about 1,300–1,367 m/s² (roughly 140 g) and that the silk stores more energy per gram than other known silk catapults.
- All observed captures targeted the green tree ant Oecophylla smaragdina, and authors hypothesise the spider may apply a species-specific chemical cue to lure those ants though this has not been chemically confirmed.
- Key limits include small sample sizes for peak measurements and the lack of a formal species description, so follow-up chemical analysis, taxonomic work, and broader field sampling are recommended.