{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the orchid family}} {{Speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Rankou, H. |year=2011 |title=''Ophrys insectifera'' |volume=2011 |article-number=e.T175957A7153465 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T175957A7153465.en |access-date=14 September 2022}}</ref> | image = Ophrys insectifera - Niitvälja2.jpg | genus = Ophrys | species = insectifera | authority = L. | synonyms = * ''Epipactis myodes'' <small>(Jacq.) F.W.Schmidt</small> * ''Malaxis myodes'' <small>(Jacq.) Bernh.</small> * ''Ophrys insectifera'' var. ''myodes'' <small>L.</small> * ''Ophrys myodes'' <small>(L.) Jacq.</small> (''nom. illeg.'') * ''Orchis insectifera'' <small>(L.) Crantz</small> * ''Orchis myodes'' <small>(Jacq.) Bernh.</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=kew>{{cite web|url= http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=141277|title= World Checklist of Selected Plant Families}}</ref> }}
'''''Ophrys insectifera''''', the '''fly orchid''', is a species of orchid and the type species of the genus ''Ophrys''. It is remarkable as an example of the use of sexually deceptive pollination and floral mimicry, as well as a highly selective and highly evolved plant–pollinator relationship.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vereecken |first1=Nicolas J. |last2=Schiestl |first2=Florian P. |name-list-style=amp |title=The evolution of imperfect floral mimicry |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=2008 |volume=105 |issue=21 |pages=7484–7488 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0800194105|pmid=18508972 |pmc=2396721 |bibcode=2008PNAS..105.7484V |doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Description== ''Ophrys insectifera'' is a tuberous perennial, reaching {{cvt|60|cm|ft|0}} in height, which flowers across its range from May to July.<ref name="bsbi.org">{{Cite web |url=http://bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/Ophrys_insectifera_species_account.pdf |title=BSBI Species Account - Ophrys insectifera |access-date=2018-10-18 |archive-date=2021-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422023343/https://bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/Ophrys_insectifera_species_account.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is a slender plant, with narrow upright leaves. A flower spike may carry 1–10 flowers, which have yellow-green sepals, very reduced, dark brown/black petals resembling the antennae of an insect and a long, narrow, lobed labellum, which is dark in color, varying from maroon to black and on which there are two glossy depressions known as 'pseudo-eyes' as well as an iridescent blue/grey patch evolved to resemble an insect's glistening wings.<ref name="bsbi.org"/> There is a rare yellow-flowered form of ''O. insectifera''.<ref name="First Nature - Ophrys insectifera">[https://www.first-nature.com/flowers/ophrys-insectifera.php First Nature - Ophrys insectifera]</ref> Chromosomes 2n=36
==Taxonomy== The genus name "''Ophrys''" derives from the Greek word "ophrys", meaning eyebrow, while the Latin epithet "insectifera" means insect-bearing or insect-carrying, referring to the unusual appearance of the flowers.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LofAZOy11GMC&dq=insectifera+latin+ophrys&pg=PA82 Les Orchidees Sauvages]</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== It is native to Europe, growing further north than most other species in the genus ''Ophrys'', in Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic states, and as far south as Greece and Spain.<ref name=kew/><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/tdwg/TDWG_geo2.pdf|title= World Checklist of Selected Plant Families TDWG Geocodes}} – interpretation of codes</ref> In the UK it is a rare species, with a southern distribution.<ref name="First Nature - Ophrys insectifera"/> The plant favours sites with damp, alkaline, unimproved soil. It can be found growing in beech woodlands, on forest edges, in scrub, on limestone pavement, limestone grassland, in chalk pits and wet meadows, on cliffs as well as on disused railways.<ref name="bsbi.org"/><ref>[https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/ophrys-insectifera Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora]</ref>
==Ecology== The name arises because its inflorescence resembles a fly, although it relies on Hymenoptera for pollination. In the UK ''O. insectifera'' is pollinated by just two species of digger wasp: ''Argogorytes mystaceus'' and ''Argogorytes fargeii''.<ref name="bsbi.org"/> The orchid uses scent to attract male wasps which pollinate the flowers as they attempt to mate with them. The scent released by the flowers mimic female sexual pheromones.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Anna-Karin|last= Borg-Karlson |author2=Inga Groth |author3=Lennart Ågren |author4=Bertil Kullenberg |name-list-style=amp |title=Form-specific fragances from ''Ophrys insectifera'' L. (Orchidaceae) attract species of different pollinator genera. Evidence of sympatric speciation?|journal=Chemoecology|publisher=Birkhäuser Basel|volume=4|issue=1|year=1993|pages=39–45|doi=10.1007/BF01245895 |s2cid= 26694626 }}</ref>
Both of the wasp species which pollinate fly orchids in the UK feed on Umbellifer flowers as adults and on froghopper nymphs as larvae.<ref>[https://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/argogorytes-mystaceus Nature Spot - Argogorytes mystaceus]</ref><ref>[http://www.bwars.com/wasp/crabronidae/nyssoninae/argogorytes-fargeii Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society - Argogorytes fargeii]</ref> ''A. mystaceus'' reproduces in woodland glades, while ''A. fargeii'' reproduces in open, sparsely-vegetated habitats.<ref>[http://www.bwars.com/ Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society]</ref>
Like most orchids, ''Ophrys insectifera'' depends upon a relationship with a mycorrhizal fungus in the soil around its roots. In experiments it has been found to grow in association with fungi in the Tulasnellaceae family.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schweiger |first1=Julienne M.‐I. |last2=Bidartondo |first2=Martin I. |last3=Gebauer |first3=Gerhard |name-list-style=amp |title=Stable isotope signatures of underground seedlings reveal the organic matter gained by adult orchids from mycorrhizal fungi |journal=Functional Ecology |date=2018 |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=870–881 |doi=10.1111/1365-2435.13042 |hdl=10044/1/61027 |s2cid=90519671 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322371106|hdl-access=free }}</ref> Due to the importance of this mycorrhizal partnership, orchids are particularly vulnerable to fungicide, but also other chemicals which could impact the growth of soil fungi or cause different fungi/bacteria species to dominate the soil they grow in.<ref>[https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/pathogen-articles/nonpathogenic-phenomena/mycorrhiza Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks - Mycorrhiza]</ref>
==Conservation==
Worldwide, this species is considered 'least concern',<ref name=IUCN/> however in Great Britain its conservation status is 'vulnerable'.<ref>[https://bsbi.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/England_Red_List_1.pdf BSBI - Vascular Plant Red List]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/fly-orchid |title=Plant Life - Fly Orchid |access-date=2019-05-27 |archive-date=2022-09-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914082428/https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/fly-orchid }}</ref>
This species is mainly threatened by habitat destruction, which takes several forms: drainage of fens, coniferization of woodland and decline in coppicing of woodland. As it has a very specialized relationship with its pollinators it is also theorized to be particularly vulnerable to climate change.<ref name="bsbi.org"/> <gallery perrow="4" widths="130px" heights="160px" class="center"> Image:Ophrys insectifera - Niitvälja2-crop.jpg|A close-up of the flower, clearly showing the iridescent pseudo-wings, pseudo-antennae, and pseudo-eyes Image:Ophrys insectifera infructescence - Niitvälja bog.jpg|Infructescence Image:Ophrys insectifera habit.jpg|Habit of an individual of ''Ophrys insectifera'' at the Altendorfer Berg in Niedersachsen, Germany Image:Ophrys_insectifera_Saarland_05.jpg|An unusual colour variation, photographed in Saarland, Germany </gallery>
==See also== * Galley Down Wood * Cleaves Wood
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons-inline|italic=1}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20010911170249/http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/mono/orchida/ophry/ophrinsv.jpg Den virtuella floran - Distribution] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172112/http://www.europeanorchids.com/index.php/en/photographs/pollinators/image?view=image&format=raw&type=img&id=419 J. Claessens, J. Kleynen: ''European orchids'' - ''Argogorytes mystaceus'' pollinator of ''Ophrys insectifera'']
{{OrchidsYearDE}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q158927}} {{Authority control}}
insectifera Category:Orchids of Europe Category:Orchids of Luxembourg Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus