First described by Baumann and Kunkele from Galilea, Israel in 1988, this is one of Europes commoner Fusca's and can be found throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from Greece and the Aegean basin and across to northern Israel. Interestingly it is absent from Crete.
Despite the fact that it can often be abundant, it's not always easy to identify, especially in area's
like the Aegean islands where there are a host of other similar species and hybrids attempting and often
acheiving convincing impersonations.
A good place to identify this plant with some certainty is Cyprus where there are very few other similar
Ophrys with which to confuse it ! O. israelitica is an early flowerer and in the east of its range it can be
in flower as early as mid February (March and April in the west).
The flower has a very hairy lip and the speculum is usually bold with a blue base, marbled grey or white
and is tipped with a broad, well demarcated silver/white omega. Perhaps the most reliable diagnostic feature however is the the way in which the flowers are held horizontally out from the stem.
Unfortunately other members of the O. omegaifera group to which this plant belongs also share this
characteristic although the main suspects O. omegaifera itself and O. basilissa do have bigger, rounder
and more reflexed flowers. O. sitiaca is a species which can present a real challenge but is a significantly
early flowerer and is not present in Cyprus. These pictures come from Lesbos, Chios and Cyprus.
.