A fiesta of Bee orchids

06 Sunday Jun 2021

Posted by sconzani in plants, wildflowers

Tags

#NoMowMay, Bee orchid, British wildflowers, Native British orchid, native orchids, urban orchids, wildflowers in road verges

If you live in or around or anywhere near Cardiff and you like orchids, then get yourself down to Ferry Road in Cardiff Bay, because there is a Bee orchid fiesta happening right now, and probably for the next few weeks.

210606 bee orchids (1)

It’s completely free. All you have to do is walk along the pavement on the west side of the road adjacent to the Cardiff Bay Retail Centre and look at the verge, because the good folks who manage the Retail Centre agreed to stop mowing said verge this spring, and the result is an explosion of Bee orchids.

I kid you not! One of the council’s community rangers did a count yesterday and reckons there are over 800 spikes, many of which are not yet in bloom. It is seriously amazing, and just shows what botanic marvels are in our road verges if the councils and corporations would just let them grow.

210606 bee orchids (3)

152/366 Pyramids and bees

31 Sunday May 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Anacamptis pyramidalis, Bee orchid, British orchids, Grangemoor Park, native orchids, Ophrys apifera), Pyramidal orchid

You might be wondering what pyramids and bees have in common. Well, in this case, they’re both orchids: the Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) and the Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera), and I was very pleasantly surprised to see rather a lot of them, especially the Bees, during my most recent walk around Grangemoor Park.

200531 pyramidal orchid (1)

With their classic triangular shape, Pyramidal orchids are easy to identify. They usually flower during June and July, and each flower spike can contain up to a hundred individual flowers. Interesting fact: the Pyramidal orchid is the county flower of the Isle of Wight.

200531 pyramidal orchid (2) 200531 bee orchid (2)

Bee orchids are my favourite orchids. Their markings and furry texture may be intended to attract bumblebees (and the flowers also produce a female bee smell, apparently) but it’s their laughing ‘faces’ that enchant me and always make me smile. And the people of Bedfordshire made the perfect choice when they selected the Bee orchid as their county flower.

200531 bee orchid (1)

183/365 Smiling bees

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Bee orchid, British orchids, faces in flowers

190702 bee orchid (1)

Some of the beautiful Bee orchids in my local wild places are starting to go over now, punished perhaps by the extreme June heat we’ve been experiencing. So, before they disappear completely for another year, I thought I’d share some of their wonderfully cheery, smiling faces. No two are the same.

145/365 An orchid update

25 Saturday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Aberbargoed Grasslands, Bee orchid, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Early purple orchid, Heath spotted-orchid, Lavernock Nature Reserve, native orchids

As more and more orchids are now appearing, I thought I’d post a few photos of those I’ve seen so far this year. The first were the aptly named Early purples (Orchis macula), though this year they were even earlier than usual I’m told – I spotted these beauties at Lavernock Nature Reserve on 23 April.

190525 early purple orchids

Next up were these pretty little Heath spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata) found growing at the Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve on 15 and 21 March, when I was visiting for the Marsh fritillaries.

190525 heath spotted-orchid

During Monday’s wander at Lavernock I spotted the first open flower of a Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsia) and on Thursday, 23 May, I found the first couple of these at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

190525 common spotted lavernock 190525 common spotted cosmeston

And today’s delightful discovery, also at Cosmeston, was my first Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) for 2019. I look forward to the warm summer days when the fields at Cosmeston are awash with (mostly Common spotted) orchids – they’re a joy to behold!

190525 bee

From garbage to glorious

09 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature, parks

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, Blackcap, Brimstone butterfly, Common blue butterfly, Common spotted orchid, Emperor dragonfly, Grangemoor Park, Holly blue butterfly, Large skipper, long-tailed tit, Meadow Brown, Pyramidal orchid, Southern marsh orchid

Day 9 of #30DaysWild saw me at Grangemoor Park, a place that used to be Cardiff’s rubbish dump: when it closed in 1994, it contained an estimated four million cubic metres of garbage, both commercial and household. Now, it’s not only a public park but also a SINC (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation), and is home to a wonderfully diverse range of flora and fauna. My photos show just some of what I discovered there today …

Large skipper butterfly

One of seven Meadow brown butterflies seen today

Male Common blue butterfly

Holly blue butterfly (and tiny friend)

Brimstone butterfly (one of my favourites)

Emperor dragonfly. There were many other dragonflies and damselflies at the pond but they were a bit distant for photos.

One of four newly fledged Long-tailed tits, foraging with their parents

Female Blackcap busy foraging for her family

Pyramidal orchids

Bee orchid – love their ‘faces’!

Southern marsh orchid (I think)

Common spotted orchids

Orchidelicious

03 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, parks, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Greater butterfly-orchid, orchid, Southern marsh orchid

180603 orchids at Cosmeston

For day three of #30DaysWild I went searching for orchids at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I got lucky. The Common spotted-orchids are blooming in good numbers now, two of the small number of well hidden Greater butterfly-orchids are flowering, I found my first Bee orchid of the season, and I think I found my first Southern marsh-orchid as well. It couldn’t get much better than that!

Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)

180603 Common spotted orchid (1)

Greater butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha)

Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Southern marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) (and Common blue butterfly)

180603 Southern marsh orchid

Orchid overdose!

09 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Anacamptis pyramidalis, Bee orchid, British flora, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Greater butterfly-orchid, native orchids, Ophrys apifera), orchid, Platanthera chlorantha, Pyramidal orchid

170609 Orchids Cosmeston

The meadows at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park are awash with orchids, Common spotted-orchids, (Dactylorhiza fuchsii), Bee orchids (Ophrys apifera), Pyramidal orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis) and, in a secluded location off the beaten track, a tiny smattering of Greater butterfly-orchids (Platanthera chlorantha). To walk along the paths amongst these beauties is simply magical!

170609 Common spotted-orchid Cosmeston (1)

170609 Common spotted-orchid Cosmeston (2)

170609 Common spotted-orchid Cosmeston (3)

170609 Greater butterfly-orchid Cosmeston (3)

170609 Greater butterfly-orchid Cosmeston (1)

170609 Greater butterfly-orchid Cosmeston (2)

The bees that don’t buzz

02 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Bee orchid, British orchids, British wildflowers, native orchids, Ophrys apifera), orchid

Finding my very first Bee orchids (Ophrys apifera) in a local park this week made my day! I know they’re designed to entice male bees to attempt mating with their flowers in order to facilitate pollination but to me they actually look like jolly smiling and laughing mouths.

I had to find out more, and I have to say that, when it comes to wild plants, I love the Plantlife website – as well as giving you the straight facts and figures about British plants, they also include the most interesting fact-lets, like these:

* The aim of the mimicry is to attract passing male bees in the hope they will try to mate and thus aid pollination. In Britain, however, Bee orchids self-pollinate so the deception is not really required.
* This wild flower was once called the “Humble Bee” orchid (Humble being a variation of Bumble).
* According to Roman natural historian Pliny the Elder it was used by womenfolk to darken their eyebrows.
* The Bee orchid is the County Flower of Bedfordshire.
* In the Language of Flowers it stands for error and industry.