This Ophrys was first described from Malta in the year 2000 and was named by Delforge O. caesiella
where "caes" refers to the bluish grey colouration of the speculum and "ella" to the small size of the
labellum.
It is found only on the islands of Malta and Sicily, being extremely local on both . In Malta where
it is known commonly as the "Maltese brown orchid" it can be found at only two sites in the north of the
country, although it can however be quite numerous there. In Sicily its full range is not really known
due to confusion with similar species but it has only so far been found sparingly in the south of the
island.
O. caesiella is a small member of the O. fusca group and when it occurs in the form illustrated in
photo's 1 to 4 is relatively easy to identify. This pattern and structure gives it an appearance that
strongly resembles the north African O. gazella which was also first formally identified in 2000. This
may not be a coincidence ?
This is a distinctive orchid and a difficult one to find, particularly as the flowers do not always appear
with the strong striation to the lip. This is apparent in the example depicted in photo 5 and to a lesser
extent by that in 7, where although having the marbled blue grey speculum, the overall appearance can
start to approach the subfusca's .
The pictures all come from the south of Sicily and date from the second two weeks of April.
.