This is a member of the small, six strong O. obaesa group that was first described by messrs Delforge,
Devillers and Devillers-Terschuren from Potenza, Italy in the year 2000.
O. lucana is endemic to peninsular Italy, most notably Campania, Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria where
it can be very localised but abundant in its favoured locations. Its a short Ophrys but thickset and
carries anything from two to six relatively large flowers with a lip that is usually a reddish brown hue.
The hairs of the lip are straight and not particularly dense and this can give the flower a somewhat shiny
appearance and the overall effect is very reminiscent of a slightly hairy chestnut. The photograph
opposite depicts this carachteristic very well.
Its a late flowerer, from May through to June and the plants featured here were photographed at the
very beginning of May and although they were part of a sizeable colony, the vast majority were still
in bud and at least a week away from appearing in any numbers.
This species should be relatively easy to identify in that there are few other Ophrys with which to
confuse it. Its range overlaps with O. lupercalis and the rare O. lojaconoi but flowering periods are
very much different and both of these plants should be dead and gone by the time O. lucana appears.
O. sulcata also overlaps in range but despite being a fellow group member is very distinct, particularly
in its much bigger stigmatic cavity.
The pictures are all from the province of Puglia in southern Italy.
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