Beautiful flower! Those are some of my favorite native European orchids, back when I lived in the french alps I loved going on hikes looking for them. Is this a cultivated plant or wild growing?
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Originally Posted by Connie Star
What kind of orchid is that? It certainly is interesting. How big is it?
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This is a species of Ophrys, but I'm not sure which. The one commonly called the bee orchid (at least in french) is Ophyrs apifera, but that one looks very different from the photo, which could be Ophrys speculum.
It's an interesting genus, and they all mimic various female insects in order to attract the males, who then rub themselves on the flower thinking it's a mate and end up pollinating it. A lot of the species (maybe all, but not sure) push the deceptive tactics even further by emitting volatile odors very similar to the female insects' sex pheromones. Nature is so amazing!
Hybrid Mode
