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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Extraction of Venom and Venom Gland Microdissections from Spiders for Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses
Published on: November 3, 2014
Ballistic high-powered spider webs overcome dangerous prey defenses
Ajay Narendra1, Pranav Joshi1, Daniele Liprandi2
1School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
None:
Predator-prey interactions are a major selective force shaping kinematic performance, driving the evolution of extreme speed and power in animal movements1. Small animals such as mantis shrimps, trap-jaw ants and slingshot spiders achieve some of the fastest biological movements to capture prey by using latch-mediated spring actuation mechanisms that produce power outputs several orders of magnitude greater than muscle alone2,3,4. These known power-amplified systems are actively controlled by the predator and act on non-specific prey. Here, we report a unique spring-actuated snare in the Australian ballista spider Propostira sp. that is selectively triggered by the defensive behavior of a specific prey - the green tree ant, Oecophylla smaragdina. We argue that the prey specialization of the ballista spider has driven the evolution of exceptional snare performance. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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