This often abundant Ophrys is essentially an Italian orchid though it may be found around the Adriatic
coasts of the former Yugoslavia and on the island of Corfu. It was first described in 1823 by the
19th century Italian botanist Signor Antonio Bertoloni.
O. bertolonii is quite distinctive and readily identifiable but does come into contact with other similar
Ophrys bertolonii group members in parts of its range. In the north it meets O. aurelia, in the
Gargano region it grows side by side with O. bertiloniformis and in Sicily it encounters the very rare
but very similar O. explanata .
The differences between this plant and the latter are described under O. explanata but mainly involve
the size and shape of the stigmatic cavity. With O. bertiloniformis there are clear differences but
unfortunately in Gargano where the two associate closely, hybridization is common and accurate
identification can be a less than straightforward process. In genetically pure populations
O. bertiloniformis can be distinguished by the lack of hollow walls in the stigmatic cavity and the green
sepals.
Picture 10 depicts an example from southern Italy where white sepals are relatively common. The other
pictures are all from either Gargano or Sicily and date from the middle weeks of April. It is however
quite possible to find O. bertolonii in flower at any time between March and June as it enjoys a very
long flowering period associated with the variable emergence of its two pollinating bee species.
The following 3 pictures are all from Sicily and clearly hybrid's although the precise genetic contributors are unknown. The final picture is particularly interesting
as the resultant plant has a striking resemblance to O. bertiloniformis, an orchid only found on the Gargano peninsula.
