WildlifeTring: Fly Orchid

Monday, 24 September 2012

Fly Orchid f. luteomarginata

This Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera, photographed at a local site in June, displays some characteristics of the rare form luteomarginata. This highly distinctive form, once thought to be a separate species, is characterised by a yellow margin that fades to brown with age. This interesting plant was weakly marked but looked very different from the Fly Orchids that were growing in profusion at the near-by and is far from being a typical example of luteomarginata.

Ophrys insectifera f. luteomarginata - Buckinghamshire, 16/06/2012

Compare the flower above with the typical Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera shown below, photographed at the same site a few days earlier..

Ophrys insectifera, Buckinghamshire, 04/06/2012

Monday, 18 June 2012

Fly Orchid

One compensation for the dreadful spring and early summer have been the Orchids, which have been thriving in the wet conditions. In early June I paid a visit to a small local Nature Reserve to check on the Fly Orchids Ophrys insectifera and was amazed at the number I found. A quick search turned up 30 plants and I have since found out that the official count for whole Reserve is many times that figure.

Fly Orchids are rare in the UK and are mainly found in the Southern half of the country. Despite it's name the flower mimics the female Digger Wasp, even producing a Pheromone to entice a male wasp into acting as an unwitting pollinator as it attempts to mate with it. There can be as many as 20 flowers on each spike which can grow as tall as 60 cm, but the plants can be very inconspicuous and hard to find. Although tolerant of a broad range of habitats, Fly Orchids prefer calcareous soils and can be found in Beech woods, grassy places in shade and even fens.

Fly Orchid Ophrys insectifera (04/06/2012)