Ophrys fusca, commonly known as the sombre bee-orchid or the dark bee-orchid, is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to western Asia.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant FamiliesAltervista Flora Italiana, Ofride scura, Sombre Bee Orchid Most subspecies of the Ophrys fusca are pollinated by males Andrena bees.
Etymology
The genus name Ophrys comes from Greek and means 'eyebrow' - a reference to the hairy fringe of the lip of the flower of many orchids in this genus. The specific epithet fusca means 'dusky' or 'brown', while the subspecies name iricolor refers to the iridescent colouring of the speculum.
Pouyannian mimicry The somber bee orchid imitates the appearance of a female common sand bee (Andrena flavipes) to attract males for pollination. Further pollinators are the sand bee (Andrena nigroaenea) and the spring silk bee (Colletes cunicularius).Helmut Baumann, Siegfried Künkele und Richard Lorenz: Orchideen Europas mit angrenzenden Gebieten. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart, 2006, p 156–160. This is an example of Pouyannian mimicry
Subspecies The following subspecies are currently recognized:
Ophrys fusca subsp. blitopertha Ophrys fusca subsp. cinereophila Ophrys fusca subsp. durieui Ophrys fusca subsp. funerea Ophrys fusca subsp. fusca Ophrys fusca subsp. iricolor Ophrys fusca subsp. pallida
References