bee orchids

Ophrys fuciflora ssp. oxyrrynchos. Sicily

Ophrys fuciflora ssp.lacaitae /O. calliantha. Sicily

Ophrys fuciflora ssp. calliantha. Sicily

Lacaita's ophrys (Ophrys fuciflora ssp.lacaitae). Sicily

Siponto Ophrys (Ophrys sipontensis) Gargano

Apulian Ophrys (Ophrys apulica) Gargano

small-patterned ophrys (Ophrys fuciflora ssp parvimaculata)

Ophrys bertolonii ssp bertoloniformis

Promontory Ophrys (Ophrys promontorii)

Shield Ophrys (Ophrys biscutella also O. crabronifera ssp biscutella)

Archipelago Orchid (Ophrys archipelagi synonymous with O.x arachnitiformis)

horned ophrys (Ophrys scolopax ssp. cornuta)

Conrad's Orchid (Ophrys scolopax ssp. conradiae)

crescent ophrys (Ophrys lunulata)

Hornet Ophrys (Ophrys crabronifera)

Hornet Ophrys (Ophrys crabronifera var chorantha)

Tyrrhenian ophrys (Ophrys tyrrhena / O.exaltata ssp montis leonis)

Tyrrhenian ophrys (Ophrys tyrrhena / O.exaltata ssp montis leonis)

Small spider orchid (Ophrys araneola)

Ophrys sphegodes ssp garganica (O. passionis ssp passionis)

Ophrys argentaria (syn O.araneola ssp argentario)

Ophrys sphegodes ssp majellensis (O. passionis ssp majellensis)

Ophrys incubacea (Ophrys atrata)

Yellow Ophrys (Ophrys lutea)

Ophrys - bee orchids 1

The diversity of Ophrys species in Italy is incredible. All these orchids mimic their pollinators (small species of bees and wasps) and secrete scents that parallel the pheromones secreted by the female insects.

Gargano and Sicily are two of the 'hotspots' for this genus...and we run our special tours to both

Orchids of all sorts, terrestrial and epiphytic are a speciality. The collection illustrates virtually every European species, variety and hybrid in close-up and habitat shots. There is an extensive collection of tropical orchids on film which is also available from the agencies we supply.

A bit of background
I have a personal interest in all aspects of this genus of orchids that, effectively, began when I found my first bee orchid on the sand dunes at Kenfig, S. Wales when I was ten years old.

As a research student in 1972 beginning work on a PhD I began to get idea that I was on a path I did not enjoy - the chance purchase of Anthony Huxley's Flowers of the Mediterranean showed a bewildering array of Mediterranean Ophrys...it was a life-changing event. Little did I know that day that a few years in the future I would meet and be befriended by Anthony Huxley and that he would mentor my work on a first book "Wild Orchids of Britain and Europe that appeared in 1983 and became a classic of its kind with, these days, a value much greater than its cover price.