This Ophrys is the title species of a group that contains just three members, O. blitopertha, its similar relative O. persephonae and the newly recognized O. urteae
from Turkey. It was first described from the Cyclades by Paulus
in 1998 and its name refers to the scarab beetle which serves as its
pollinator, Blitopertha lineolata. Interestingly this is one of the very few Ophrys species that does not have a bee as its pollinator.
O. blitopertha and O. persephonae can be similar and both find a home in the eastern Aegean, although the former is more widespread with a range that takes it from the Cyclades, through the Aegean basin into Anatolia. The distribution of O. persephonae does however overlap in south west Turkey and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Chios and Kos.
Separating the two species is not particularly difficult but perhaps the most significant differentiator is not the flower itself but the overall plant and its habitat. O. blitopertha is slender (often weedy) with few flowers and invariably grows in full sun. Picture 3 depicts very well the typical habitat in which the species is to be found. O. persephonae on the other hand will rarely (if ever) tolerate such an open, arid position and usually occurs in open pinewoods or on shady verges. It is also a taller and more robust orchid of 30-40cm with up to 10 individual flowers.
O. blitopertha is not especially variable but on the island of Chios in particular there is a variation with an orange lip margin which can create potential identification problems. The photographs are from Chios and Lesbos, dating from the last two weeks of April.
O. blitopertha and O. persephonae can be similar and both find a home in the eastern Aegean, although the former is more widespread with a range that takes it from the Cyclades, through the Aegean basin into Anatolia. The distribution of O. persephonae does however overlap in south west Turkey and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Chios and Kos.
Separating the two species is not particularly difficult but perhaps the most significant differentiator is not the flower itself but the overall plant and its habitat. O. blitopertha is slender (often weedy) with few flowers and invariably grows in full sun. Picture 3 depicts very well the typical habitat in which the species is to be found. O. persephonae on the other hand will rarely (if ever) tolerate such an open, arid position and usually occurs in open pinewoods or on shady verges. It is also a taller and more robust orchid of 30-40cm with up to 10 individual flowers.
O. blitopertha is not especially variable but on the island of Chios in particular there is a variation with an orange lip margin which can create potential identification problems. The photographs are from Chios and Lesbos, dating from the last two weeks of April.
