My personal all time favourite discovery made with iNat help was observing a female specimen of Anelosimus studiosus.
Before that I never thought spiders could be social, let alone invest so much resources in looking after their broods.
The serendipitous iNat ID of a female of A. studiosus on my privet cassia led to a world of discoveries.
I saw her mating with the much smaller male, in a rudimental web that she then proceeded to expand into a mansion with several wings.
There was an “inner sanctorum” where she guarded her egg sac, a front “patio” where the 2-3 days old spiderlings would wonder while she looked over them from the entrance. There was also a back wing where I saw the male hanging out ready for future matings and safe under the protection her web provided. I also observed at least one spider from another species at the periphery the web, indicating her “protection” benefited also other animals.
The most amazing thing was seeing her with her spiderlings. After becoming motile and emerging from the sac with her help, they staid close to her where she could touch them, inside the inner nest for the first 24-48 hours. After this time they would wonder outside but she would still hunt for them, gather them around the prey and feed them possibly pre-digested prey. I even took videos of the behaviour.
She also taught me what great multitaskers Anelisimus moms are. She would lay and guard the next egg sac while still looking after the previous brood.
Another amazing observation was that spiderlings from a previous brood would linger in the web, sharing the outside space with younger spiderlings, staying in close contact as they learnt to hunt independently as if baby-sitting them. This suggested an even more advanced kind of social behavior.
After laying about 3 broods she gave signs her time might be coming to an end. She started being less active, looking somewhat more dull and grey in appearance. Most of all her silky kingdom started shrinking and showing signs of neglect. One day she was simply gone.
That observation, that started with a simple iNat ID, turned out to be a meaningful learning opportunity. She taught me things I never knew about her species. I learnt spiders can be great mothers, caring for multiple broods, protecting and feeding their offsprings. They also provide on some level for their mates. They create complex, multifunctional, three dimensional web structures. Last but not least they find strength in cooperation. The behavior I observed in Florida was communal with some level of social cooperation. The social component becomes stronger the more you move north and temperatures drop, conditions are harsher and numbers can really help with brood rearing and hunting.
I would love to hear if anyone else had an observation that led to an awe inspiring moment about nature.