ballista

"The ballista spider's snare is bioengineered to store elastic energy in the silk and rapidly release it, giving it incredible instantaneous power density -- greater than any other specialized silk-based biological catapults," said Professor Narendra.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

During daylight hours, the ballista spider remains hidden beneath a leaf positioned above areas where green tree ants are actively foraging.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

Though it is yet to be formally named, scientists have nicknamed the tiny spider "ballista", after the ancient weapon used to hurl stones in battle.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Although many people have identified the scorpion as a type of ballista, it lacks the torsion springs that ballistae use to thrust their projectile forward with such incredible force.

From Slate ● May 7, 2019

“The ballista fired the first dwarf in that direction, I think. Come on.”

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

“Scorpions,” ballistae developed by Hand of the Queen Qyburn, posed the primary threat to Drogon.

From Slate ● May 13, 2019

Although many people have identified the scorpion as a type of ballista, it lacks the torsion springs that ballistae use to thrust their projectile forward with such incredible force.

From Slate ● May 7, 2019

The engineers had built a stone fortress with an iron portcullis, guard towers, scorpion ballistae, water cannons, and no doubt many other nasty surprises for the defenders to use.

From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan

“Bah. Fine. Just don’t take too long, or I’m coming after you with ballistae blazing.”

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

It looked just like the illustrations Annabeth had seen in military history books—with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan