Next time you think you spot a bee hanging around on a nearby flower, have a closer look, especially if you’re in the Mediterranean. Because it might not actually be a bee! The bee orchid, known to plant buffs as Ophrys apifera, has a flower which has evolved to look almost exactly like a bee… provided you squint a bit, that is…
The name of the plant is made up of the Greek word “Ophrys”, which means “eyebrow”, and the Latin word “apifera”, which refers to the flower’s bee-shaped lip.
Not only does the bee orchid flower look like a bee, it also smells like a bee! A female bee, to be precise. The reason for this mimicry is that the orchid needs to be pollinated with the help of bees – and there’s no better way of getting a male bee to jump all over you than by looking and smelling like a female bee! Be honest – we’ve all tried it at some point.
Before you go faux-bee hunting, ensure your travel insurance is all sorted.