I saw my first bee orchid in the wild while on a run this evening. And then another, and another. All on the scrubby road sides of an industrial estate in Sheffield. #bloomscrolling
@Hesperalis It was an exciting spot for me! I’ve been looking in a spot where they’ve previously been reported but haven’t been seen in recent years so to see these just by chance while running a different route was fantastic!
@wormerama I wonder if it's because councils are doing less mowing these days. We have a grass verge near that has hundreds of spotted orchids now.

@wormerama

Oh, yay!
We saw some yesterday
First time ever (possibly)
A short walk in the Purbeck Hills by Swanage in Dorset
(My photo was rubbish)

@wormerama some of my favourites 😍.
@wormerama Awesome!
By chance, I stumbled across this sad/poetic comic about Ophrys apifera just yesterday - I'm not sure how accurate it is though - is the bee really extinct?
https://xkcd.com/1259/
Bee Orchid

xkcd
@matze74 I completely forgot about that comic, thanks for the reminder! The bee isn't extinct but it doesn't have as wide a habitat range as the orchid. It can self-pollinate so is still able to reproduce outside the bee's range.

@wormerama
Beautiful specimens!
They chose our garden for a stay and return every year.
Nature's miracles... 😀

@tompearce49