The fusca - / lutea - Complex of Sicily   right arrowball, from Animation City

There is a big number of Pseudophrys species in Sicily, i.e. abdominal pollinated Ophrys fusca s.l. and lutea s.l., of which most can be distinguished easily. However one should look at the whole population, and be careful picking out of individually deviating stems, since there are individual 'outliers' in size or shape of the bloom in every bigger Ophrys fusca s.l. population. In Sicily there are also many sites where several species are occurring simultaneously or successively. Not yet all Sicilian Pseudophrys have been described as species, so some have still to be named provisionally according to the form of the labellum, the pollinating bee, or an important site.

I try to characterize the Sicilian Pseudophrys, which I have seen during four trips, briefly in text and images.

Ophrys laurensis, Sicily Buccheri 27.4.98 Ophrys laurensis, Sicily Buccheri 27.4.98 Ophrys flammeola, Sicily Vizzini 4.4.98 Ophrys flammeola, Sicily Vizzini 4.4.98 Ophrys mirabilis, Sicily Prov. Caltanissetta 28.4.98 Ophrys mirabilis, Sicily Prov. Caltanissetta (locus classicus) 28.4.98
 
 
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