While filming Cedar Waxwings at Eastern Point, I came across this remarkable scene in a small patch of wildflowers. The patch was only about fifteen feet long by ten feet wide, but was layered in hundreds of orb spider webs. I was so glad to have been there that morning because the following day I returned after a storm, and all the spider webs had vanished.

A mystical symbol of the season for their ability to weave intricate webs, orb spiders are an important part of our ecosystem. They eat hundreds of species of insects in our gardens and homes, and are also themselves a source of food for other organisms.