Ajay Narendra
@pipilika.bsky.social
Professor of Neuroethology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Pinned
Ajay Narendra
@pipilika.bsky.social
· Jun 23
Ballistic high-powered spider webs overcome dangerous prey defenses
Narendra et al. describe in an Australian ballista spider a spring-actuated snare
that is triggered by green tree ants. They show that the snare’s architecture delivers
exceptionally high instantaneou...
www.cell.com
This was possible due to a fantastic collaboration with passionate researchers @wolffspider.bsky.social @pranavjoshi8.bsky.social Greg Anderson and Danielle Liprandi.
Links to video summary and paper (open access) here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
@animbehav.bsky.social @austentsoc.bsky.social
Links to video summary and paper (open access) here: www.cell.com/current-biol...
@animbehav.bsky.social @austentsoc.bsky.social
We have a fully funded 3-year PhD position to study jumping spider navigation. Open to both domestic and international candidates. Details below. Join us!
@animbehav.bsky.social @austentsoc.bsky.social @ausevosoc.bsky.social @neuroethology.org @asab.org
@animbehav.bsky.social @austentsoc.bsky.social @ausevosoc.bsky.social @neuroethology.org @asab.org
September 15, 2026 at 4:12 AM
We have a fully funded 3-year PhD position to study jumping spider navigation. Open to both domestic and international candidates. Details below. Join us!
@animbehav.bsky.social @austentsoc.bsky.social @ausevosoc.bsky.social @neuroethology.org @asab.org
@animbehav.bsky.social @austentsoc.bsky.social @ausevosoc.bsky.social @neuroethology.org @asab.org
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
We are very excited to be hosting the 2027 ASSAB conference at the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch. This will be held from the 7th to the 9th of July, 2027. Please save the date.
Haere Mai from Aotearoa New Zealand. We look forward to seeing you next year!
Haere Mai from Aotearoa New Zealand. We look forward to seeing you next year!
September 8, 2026 at 1:54 AM
We are very excited to be hosting the 2027 ASSAB conference at the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch. This will be held from the 7th to the 9th of July, 2027. Please save the date.
Haere Mai from Aotearoa New Zealand. We look forward to seeing you next year!
Haere Mai from Aotearoa New Zealand. We look forward to seeing you next year!
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
People who don’t know the difference between ‘entomology’ and ‘etymology’ bug us in ways we cannot put into words.
August 19, 2026 at 1:42 PM
People who don’t know the difference between ‘entomology’ and ‘etymology’ bug us in ways we cannot put into words.
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Some substantial changes announced by ARC for next (supposedly final) rounds of some schemes, esp. Discovery Projects👇
🔹CIs can only be on one DP28 app
🔹CIs on successful DP26 or DP27 apps cannot apply
🔹Rejoinder process “has been removed and replaced with more detailed feedback to applicants” ⁉️
🔹CIs can only be on one DP28 app
🔹CIs on successful DP26 or DP27 apps cannot apply
🔹Rejoinder process “has been removed and replaced with more detailed feedback to applicants” ⁉️
www.arc.gov.au
August 18, 2026 at 5:42 AM
Some substantial changes announced by ARC for next (supposedly final) rounds of some schemes, esp. Discovery Projects👇
🔹CIs can only be on one DP28 app
🔹CIs on successful DP26 or DP27 apps cannot apply
🔹Rejoinder process “has been removed and replaced with more detailed feedback to applicants” ⁉️
🔹CIs can only be on one DP28 app
🔹CIs on successful DP26 or DP27 apps cannot apply
🔹Rejoinder process “has been removed and replaced with more detailed feedback to applicants” ⁉️
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
New paper on seeing in air and water with compound eyes!
The problem: physics
The solution: physics
Elegantly described with the dream team @tannermierow.bsky.social and @alexkingston.bsky.social
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
The problem: physics
The solution: physics
Elegantly described with the dream team @tannermierow.bsky.social and @alexkingston.bsky.social
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
March 25, 2026 at 9:20 AM
New paper on seeing in air and water with compound eyes!
The problem: physics
The solution: physics
Elegantly described with the dream team @tannermierow.bsky.social and @alexkingston.bsky.social
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
The problem: physics
The solution: physics
Elegantly described with the dream team @tannermierow.bsky.social and @alexkingston.bsky.social
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Our digital sphinx, a cautionary tale about the interpretation of connectome-body models, is now a reviewed preprint at @elife.bsky.social. We are grateful to the reviewers for engaging seriously with what we hope is a useful (if absurd) demonstration.
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
August 17, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Our digital sphinx, a cautionary tale about the interpretation of connectome-body models, is now a reviewed preprint at @elife.bsky.social. We are grateful to the reviewers for engaging seriously with what we hope is a useful (if absurd) demonstration.
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
A spider that catapults ants into its web!
“The snare mechanism seems to have evolved as a highly specialized way of allowing the spider to ‘pick off’ potentially hazardous prey one at a time and transport them a safe distance away from ant trails and nests.” @wolffspider.bsky.social
“The snare mechanism seems to have evolved as a highly specialized way of allowing the spider to ‘pick off’ potentially hazardous prey one at a time and transport them a safe distance away from ant trails and nests.” @wolffspider.bsky.social
August 16, 2026 at 12:59 PM
A spider that catapults ants into its web!
“The snare mechanism seems to have evolved as a highly specialized way of allowing the spider to ‘pick off’ potentially hazardous prey one at a time and transport them a safe distance away from ant trails and nests.” @wolffspider.bsky.social
“The snare mechanism seems to have evolved as a highly specialized way of allowing the spider to ‘pick off’ potentially hazardous prey one at a time and transport them a safe distance away from ant trails and nests.” @wolffspider.bsky.social
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Wow, our ballista spider study was literally catapulted across the media, e.g. BBC, ABC, CNN, New York Times, New Scientist, Spiegel and a lot of regional newspapers, radio and tv stations. We were also highlighted by Nature: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Daily briefing: Humans and great apes giggle in the same rhythms
The findings hint that vocal motor control might have evolved from a shared ancestor. Plus, sea turtles’ navigation skills are only so-so and what’s next for the International Space Station.
www.nature.com
June 29, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Wow, our ballista spider study was literally catapulted across the media, e.g. BBC, ABC, CNN, New York Times, New Scientist, Spiegel and a lot of regional newspapers, radio and tv stations. We were also highlighted by Nature: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Ballistic high-powered spider webs overcome dangerous prey defenses CurrentBiology
Ballistic high-powered spider webs overcome dangerous prey defenses
Narendra et al. describe in an Australian ballista spider a spring-actuated snare that is triggered by green tree ants. They show that the snare’s architecture delivers exceptionally high instantaneous power, likely evolved to rapidly remove captured ants from trails, outperforming other silk-based catapult systems.
dlvr.it
June 27, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Ballistic high-powered spider webs overcome dangerous prey defenses CurrentBiology
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
A recently discovered spider species in Australia’s tropical rainforests has stunned researchers with a hunting technique that launches prey through the air using a spring-loaded silk trap. www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha... #palaeontology #Arachnology #science #SciChat
The 'ballista spider' builds a trap to catapult unsuspecting prey into its web | CBC News
A recently discovered spider species in Australia’s tropical rainforests has stunned researchers with a hunting technique that launches prey through the air using a spring-loaded silk trap.
www.cbc.ca
June 27, 2026 at 8:03 PM
A recently discovered spider species in Australia’s tropical rainforests has stunned researchers with a hunting technique that launches prey through the air using a spring-loaded silk trap. www.cbc.ca/radio/asitha... #palaeontology #Arachnology #science #SciChat
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
I think I've found my new favourite type of spider. phys.org/news/2026-06...
Newly described Australian ballista spider builds a spring-loaded snare to catch a single ant species
An international team of researchers has discovered a remarkable new spider species in the rainforest of North Queensland that spins an ingenious and powerful spring-actuated snare to catch a single s...
phys.org
July 1, 2026 at 12:32 PM
I think I've found my new favourite type of spider. phys.org/news/2026-06...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
The speed with which I rushed to Wikipedia only to be hit with, "species yet to be named," and no information. 😿
... But the references include the original scientific publication. And it includes a video! With multiple slow motion shots!!! 😸
(1367m/s²... heck of a yoink)
... But the references include the original scientific publication. And it includes a video! With multiple slow motion shots!!! 😸
(1367m/s²... heck of a yoink)
Ballistic high-powered spider webs overcome dangerous prey defenses
Narendra et al. describe in an Australian ballista spider a spring-actuated snare
that is triggered by green tree ants. They show that the snare’s architecture delivers
exceptionally high instantaneou...
www.cell.com
August 8, 2026 at 10:19 PM
The speed with which I rushed to Wikipedia only to be hit with, "species yet to be named," and no information. 😿
... But the references include the original scientific publication. And it includes a video! With multiple slow motion shots!!! 😸
(1367m/s²... heck of a yoink)
... But the references include the original scientific publication. And it includes a video! With multiple slow motion shots!!! 😸
(1367m/s²... heck of a yoink)
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
1/6 🕷️ THE NEWLY DISCOVERED BALLISTA SPIDER AND ITS UNIQUE TRAP 🕷️
A newly discovered Australian spider uses a spring-loaded silk trap to launch aggressive ants into its web.
It’s an evolutionary marvel of engineering.
Source: CBC News
#AstroSky #Australia #Nature #Spiders #Biology
A newly discovered Australian spider uses a spring-loaded silk trap to launch aggressive ants into its web.
It’s an evolutionary marvel of engineering.
Source: CBC News
#AstroSky #Australia #Nature #Spiders #Biology
June 29, 2026 at 5:12 AM
1/6 🕷️ THE NEWLY DISCOVERED BALLISTA SPIDER AND ITS UNIQUE TRAP 🕷️
A newly discovered Australian spider uses a spring-loaded silk trap to launch aggressive ants into its web.
It’s an evolutionary marvel of engineering.
Source: CBC News
#AstroSky #Australia #Nature #Spiders #Biology
A newly discovered Australian spider uses a spring-loaded silk trap to launch aggressive ants into its web.
It’s an evolutionary marvel of engineering.
Source: CBC News
#AstroSky #Australia #Nature #Spiders #Biology
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/27/s...
Article is unlocked. 3 fascinating clips show how the snare trap of the #ballista-spider is built & triggered by the prey ant.
Article is unlocked. 3 fascinating clips show how the snare trap of the #ballista-spider is built & triggered by the prey ant.
This Trap Wants Ants to Take a Bite
www.nytimes.com
June 28, 2026 at 6:39 PM
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/27/s...
Article is unlocked. 3 fascinating clips show how the snare trap of the #ballista-spider is built & triggered by the prey ant.
Article is unlocked. 3 fascinating clips show how the snare trap of the #ballista-spider is built & triggered by the prey ant.
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Calling out all #microCT / #photogrammetry / #3Dprinting nerds who work in #entomology in #Australia! We are having a symposium at the @austentsoc.bsky.social conference in December and we would love to hear from you!!!
Abstract submission closes 31st August!
event.mq.edu.au/aes2026/symp...
Abstract submission closes 31st August!
event.mq.edu.au/aes2026/symp...
August 13, 2026 at 6:27 AM
Calling out all #microCT / #photogrammetry / #3Dprinting nerds who work in #entomology in #Australia! We are having a symposium at the @austentsoc.bsky.social conference in December and we would love to hear from you!!!
Abstract submission closes 31st August!
event.mq.edu.au/aes2026/symp...
Abstract submission closes 31st August!
event.mq.edu.au/aes2026/symp...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Are you an ecologist/evolutionary biologist looking for an ongoing academic position? Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences is hiring! Come join us in Melbourne, Australia! Details here: careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...
August 11, 2026 at 5:56 AM
Are you an ecologist/evolutionary biologist looking for an ongoing academic position? Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences is hiring! Come join us in Melbourne, Australia! Details here: careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Now in Science: How does the brain’s navigation system allocate its limited representational resources during behavior?
We found that grid cells sweep toward locations of interest, providing a potential mechanism for allocating spatial attention in the cognitive map.🧵
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We found that grid cells sweep toward locations of interest, providing a potential mechanism for allocating spatial attention in the cognitive map.🧵
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
August 6, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Now in Science: How does the brain’s navigation system allocate its limited representational resources during behavior?
We found that grid cells sweep toward locations of interest, providing a potential mechanism for allocating spatial attention in the cognitive map.🧵
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We found that grid cells sweep toward locations of interest, providing a potential mechanism for allocating spatial attention in the cognitive map.🧵
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Tom Collett’s new book “Insects and How They Navigate Their World” is out and seemingly the pdf is free 👀 (for me anyway) link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Insects and How They Navigate Their World
Discover how insects navigate using vision, memory and cues from nature. A clear, engaging look at ants, bees, and the remarkable abilities of tiny brains.
link.springer.com
August 4, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Tom Collett’s new book “Insects and How They Navigate Their World” is out and seemingly the pdf is free 👀 (for me anyway) link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Reposted by Ajay Narendra
Science peeps, please re-share! We're hiring for a level D, research-only position. Despite the weird job title it's very broadly molecular ecology, evolution, or -omics more broadly.
Must already have the right to work in Australia.
external-jobs.csu.edu.au/cw/en/job/49...
Must already have the right to work in Australia.
external-jobs.csu.edu.au/cw/en/job/49...
Vacancies - Jobs @ Charles Sturt - Details - Associate Professor of Molecular Diagnostics
external-jobs.csu.edu.au
August 7, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Science peeps, please re-share! We're hiring for a level D, research-only position. Despite the weird job title it's very broadly molecular ecology, evolution, or -omics more broadly.
Must already have the right to work in Australia.
external-jobs.csu.edu.au/cw/en/job/49...
Must already have the right to work in Australia.
external-jobs.csu.edu.au/cw/en/job/49...