Autumn is a season of orb spiders. Walking through the rhos pastures of RCT it is impossible not to break the webs of the fat bodied, pale yellow four-spot orb-weaver: Britain’s heaviest spider. This is the unmistakable and beautiful orb spider of our heaths and marshy grasslands. Despite every best effort, an autumnal visit to a marshy grassland will inevitably involve a four-spot or two catching a lift home. A few hours later, whilst enjoying a chocolate digestive and cup of tea, a four-spot may therefore appear, crawling laboriously up your shirt front, or perched parrot fashion on your shoulder; all of which can come as a bit of a shock. The common garden orb spider is a familiar but spectacular species. Recent work in central Europe has recorded declines in garden orb spider numbers as a response to decline in flying insects. So, if your garden is full of autumnal orb webs be grateful. The third orb spider we could have is the strawberry orb. It is called strawberry because that is what its body and colour look like. There is a single record for the Cynon Valley of this unmistakable beauty.