Strange Bee Orchid

[Gypsy Orchid]

Found this Bee Orchid today in Devon. Looks a bit strange Could it be
Ophrys trolli (Wasp)
Sylv

[Jason Claxton]

Hi Sylv.

I agree on it being trollii,a variety of the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera.Impressive aren't they.

[Dorts]

Stricktly. the Wasp Orchid - Ophrys apifera var. trolii has no furry side lobes to the flower, as yours has. I have seen your form on several occasions and have been unable to put it into any of the named groups. But it is certainly very close to being a Wasp.

Bee orchids are self-pollinated in Britain and therefore a great variety of forms exist and persist. Only a few have been named.

Yours is interesting in the way that the dorsal sepal lays back in the horizontal.

[IanS]

Great find there Sylv. Dorts is correct about the side lobes but to all intents and purposes its very close to trollii. None of the other named varieties come close.

[Gypsy Orchid]

Thanks Dorts and Ian S for the info. Thought I was optimistic hopping for Wasp but see what you me about the side lobes.
Thanks Sylv

[ceterach]

Originally Posted by Dorts

Stricktly. the Wasp Orchid - Ophrys apifera var. trolii has no furry side lobes to the flower, as yours has. I have seen your form on several occasions and have been unable to put it into any of the named groups. But it is certainly very close to being a Wasp.

Bee orchids are self-pollinated in Britain and therefore a great variety of forms exist and persist. Only a few have been named.

Yours is interesting in the way that the dorsal sepal lays back in the horizontal.

If you believe in in it, then v.trolli is quite variable, I would have thought this plant is entirely consistent as an example especially with regard to the markings on the lip.

All the best

[the young hunter]

I agree, just a slight variation within the variation itself.

I've yet to find one

Mike

[Gypsy Orchid]

Have had this confirmed as Ophrys trollii by Dr. F.Billing Devonshire Association Botany. Last see in Devon at Seaton 1925. I went back on Sunday to check it and a very elaborate cage had been put up (I assume by the council but they have not replied to my email) but unfortunately the two plants had gone. Not sure if they have been removed or locale dogs have used the post to cock there legs and killed them. Seems strange for them to disappear since Thursday afternoon. I now feel guilty and wish I had not told the council as I think they would have survived better on there own most people who walk along this path do not even see the orchids.
Sylv: mad:

[Monkey Orchid]

Originally Posted by Gypsy Orchid

I went back on Sunday to check it and a very elaborate cage had been put up (I assume by the council but they have not replied to my email) but unfortunately the two plants had gone. Not sure if they have been removed or locale dogs have used the post to cock there legs and killed them. Seems strange for them to disappear since Thursday afternoon. I now feel guilty and wish I had not told the council as I think they would have survived better on there own most people who walk along this path do not even see the orchids.

It's not your fault, Sylv. You did the best you could by getting the plant correctly identified and recorded. It's a real shame the plants appear to have gone before they had a chance to set seed. Does it look as though they've actually been dug up, or picked? Maybe if some unthinking person has just picked the flowers then the tubers will still survive.

I'm surprised that the council (if it was them) put a cage up, it seems an unusually quick response by a local authority. The whole 'to cage or not to cage' issue is a difficult one - when I've worked on nature reserves, wire cages have served to protect individual plants from rabbits, but not much else. We've even put cages over orchid plants which have popped up in paths, to make them more visible and protect them from trampling, but it doesn't always work. Sometimes you just end up with a flattened cage with a squashed orchid inside. I think you're right though, most people overlook rare or uncommon plants (unless there's a clearly trampled path made by plant twitchers leading to them!) and they often seem to survive better when their presence isn't made obvious by visible protective measures.

A really nice find, though.

[Dorts]

'Monkey Orchid'. I fully agree about protective measures possibly leading to the demise of the plant being protected. Sometimes its best to admire and say nothing.

Anyway, back to the var. trollii. It is very likely that other similar plants to the one found will exist nearby, at varying stages of development to flower another day. So I suggest 'Gypsyorchid' that you keep searching in the same spot for the next few years and well done on getting a positive id.
Good hunting.
Dorts.