The local redistribution of granular material by sublimation of the southern seasonal CO2 ice deposit is one of the most active surface shaping processes on Mars today. This unique geomorphic mechanism has been linked to the dendritic, branching, ‘spider’-like araneiform terrain and associated fans and spots - features which are native to Mars and have no Earth analogues. However, there is a paucity of empirical data to test the validity of this genetic hypothesis. Additionally, it is unclear whether the organised radial patterns of araneiforms require a singular or multiple seasonal events to form. Here we present the results of a suite of laboratory experiments undertaken to investigate if the interaction between a sublimating CO2 ice overburden with central vents and a porous, mobile regolith will mobilise grains from beneath the ice in the form of a plume to generate araneiform patterns. We investigate the physical constraints on the level of branching of these features and the area that they cover. We provide the first observations of plume activity via CO2 sublimation and consequent erosion of araneiform features. Based on calculations of the mass flux sublimation rate of CO2 ice blocks buried under sediment and consequent volume transport, we show that CO2 sublimation can be a highly efficient agent of sediment transport under Martian pressure.