left arrowball, from Animation City   Ophrys calocaerina   right arrowball, from Animation City

This species starts to flower in April, it has a big, rather colorful labellum, which it holds in a steep to vertical position. Up to now it was called by the provisional name 'rosalia-fusca' according to an important site in Sicily, but Wolfgang WUCHERPFENNIG and Helmut PRESSER issued an article in 2005 in Jour.Eur.Orch. 37 (1): 139-146, in which they proved its identity with Ophrys calocaerina DEVILLERS-TERSCHUREN & DEVILLERS, which has been described from Greece in 1994. Unfortunately I haven't seen it there yet. As attributes to differ the species from the similar Ophrys sabulosa WUCHERPFENNIG and PRESSER mention the long petals of Ophrys calocaerina and the more grey colour of the speculum of Ophrys sabulosa.

Ophrys calocaerina, Sicily Buccheri 27.4.98 Ophrys calocaerina, Sicily Buccheri 27.4.98 Ophrys calocaerina, Sicily Buccheri 27.4.98
Ophrys calocaerina, Sicily Buccheri 27.4.98
 
 
 
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