i6o WILD FLOWERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES 
(3) Spider Orchid. (Ophrys sphegodes.) — Lip obscurely 3-lobed, central lobe broad, entire or 
notched, with or without a central point ; column erect, or slightly beaked. 
Lip much longer than broad, much longer than the outer perianth-lobes, flat, not spurred, 
(4) Fly Orchid. (6phrys muscif era.) — Lip 3-lobed, central lobe long, hanging, and 
notched ; 2 inner and upper perianth-lobes erect, thread-like, hairy ; column not 
beaked. 
1. Bee Orchid. (Ophrys apifera. Hudson.) — As just described. A very singular 
and beautiful plant, which is especially interesting, as it is usually said to be the only British 
orchid which fertilises itself, though I have observed the Fly Orchid to do the same. This self- 
fertilisation is brought about by the weight of the mature pollen-bags being sufficient to bend 
their remarkably long slender stalks (caudicles) into such a position that they can touch the 
stigmatic surface. Darwin’s experiments proved that wind was necessary to procure fertilisation, 
as certain specimens placed in a still room, though with the pollen suspended in front of the 
stigmas, never matured fruits. The flowers are large, generally about 3-6 in a loose cluster ; the 
bracts are leafy, usually longer than the seedcase and sometimes longer than the flowers ; the 
3 outer perianth-lobes are egg-shaped (ovate) and pointed, pink, mauve, flesh-colour, or nearly 
white inside, and greenish outside ; the 2 side inner perianth-lobes are strap-shaped, much 
smaller and narrower than the outer ones, and the lip is broad, velvety, very convex, 5-lobed ; the 
side lobes are very hairy, and the 3 middle ones are turned back under the convex lip, the central 
one being very small, narrow, pointed and reflexed ; the whole lip is of a dark maroon-purple, 
marked with pale yellow, and bears a remarkable similarity to the insect from which it receives 
its name ; the column is erect and is beaked over the anther ; the stem is generally about 1 foot 
high, and the leaves are oblong and mostly from the root (radical). [ Plate 51. 
Rather rare. In dry pastures and open places on chalk and limestone ; generally distributed in 
the south and east of England, in the south and middle of Ireland, but not found in Scotland. 
June — July. Perennial. 
2. Late Spidep Orchid. (Ophrys fuciflora. Reichb.) — A very similar species to the 
last, differing in the lip (labellum) being browner and longer, with the central minute lobe flat, 
bent inwards, rather heart-shaped, and green, and in the column being straight or beaked over the 
anther. ( Ophrys arachnites. Lamarck; under Ophrys apifera. Benth. and Hook.) 
Very rare, local. On chalk downs at Folkestone in Kent and Sittingbourne in Surrey. April — 
June. Perennial. 
3. Spider Orchid. (Ophrys sphegddes. Mill.) — A similar species to the Bee Orchid 
(Ophrys apifera), but usually smaller, the flowers generally fewer, the outer perianth-lobes of a 
pale yellowish-green, the lip (labellum) longer, obscurely 3-lobed, the central lobe being broad, 
entire or notched, with or without a central point, and all the lobes only slightly turned under, 
the beak of the column erect and not beaked over the anther. ( Ophrys aranifera. Hudson.) 
\Plate 51. 
Rare. On downs and open places, in chalk and limestone soils, in the south and east of 
England. April — June. Perennial. 
f 
4 . Fly Orchid. (Ophrys muscif era. Hudson.) — A much more slender species than 
the preceding with smaller flowers, generally only 3 or 4 in a slender spike ; the bracts are leafy 
the lower ones usually very much longer than the seedcase ; the 3 outer perianth-lobes are oblong 
or narrowly egg-shaped (ovate), spreading, and of a fresh pale green ; the 2 side inner lobes are 
