In habitat- Dactylorhiza maculata (or not!)

[SteveC2]

A little gallery of what I believe to be Heath Spotted Orchids growing on a nearby reserve.  They say that artists suffer for their art, I'm certainly suffering for these; the mosquitoes were out in force and my hands were on the menu for supper!
I love the variety in colour and pattern.

OOPS!  You might have noted that I said "I believe" that they were maculata.  That was because I was told that they were and I didn't like to argue even though I had my doubts.  I'm now told that there are no maculata on said reserve and they are all fuchsii or hybrids, which confirms my doubts.  When I posted the pics I half expected to be told that they weren't maculata.  I guess that you are all too polite!

[fredg]

Some beauties there Steve

[Neil]

Steve,

It was worth the suffering

[daveyp1970]

Lovely Steve but i've got to say horseflies are my worst worry,i once biked to a Dactylorhiza site and got there sweating like mad because it was a red hot die.As soon i began taking pics the dinnerbell must have rung for them.I was nailed about twenty times that day.

[Maggi Young]

Avon Skin So Soft Spray..... keeps all sort of biting insects away.... if you remember to use it... she said, scratching the bites on her leg.......

[Maren]

Boots mosquito spray with Deet. Works for me even in the hottest rainforests.

And when I forget to apply it, there is an after-bite/sting spray called Soov bite, which I ask my Aussie friends to bring when they visit, because it is not distributed in this country. It works a treat, delivers an antihistamine and local pain relief and covers the affected area with a thin film to stop infection. This disappears after a few days and by then the sting has healed. Brilliant.

[fredg]

Some botanists do not consider it specifically distinct from D. maculata, but the middle lobe of the labellum is larger in D. fuchsii.

Most people don't argue when you use Dactylorhiza sp. Steve 

[SteveC2]

To be honest I've been to the right reserve today and I can see the difference between "real" maculata and the others, but there were plenty of fuchsii about and many many hybrids.  Due to a technical malfunction the pictures were awful, so a return visit is required.
technical malfunction = camera got very very wet so electronics packed up.  Very very expensive me thinks!

[Tony Willis]

At least it is raining for you at last. We have had three dry days in the last six weeks,

[SteveC2]

Yep!  Water butts full at last! ;

[Anthony Darby]

Avon Skin So Soft Spray..... keeps all sort of biting insects away.... if you remember to use it... she said, scratching the bites on her leg.......

I've used this for midges. I get cleg bites in the summer, but apart from a wee nip when they bite, there's no other effect on me.Midge bite itch for half an hour after the bite and then no more.

[daveyp1970]

Anthony i must be allergic to cleg bites because its like hell for me,its not the nip its the after effects of really bad swelling and itching for days.

[SteveC2]

If clegs are horseflies I'll second that.  After walking round Ennerdale I was stood outside Boots in Ambleside the next morning waiting for it to open such was the swelling in my legs and arms.

[Anthony Darby]

If clegs are horseflies I'll second that.  After walking round Ennerdale I was stood outside Boots in Ambleside the next morning waiting for it to open such was the swelling in my legs and arms.

Clegs (Haematopta pluvialis and others) are a small horse fly about 1 cm long. There seem to be some form or other in most of the world. I remember pouring a cup of coffee out of my flask (stainless steel, bought in Boots, said it held a pint; only held 16 fluid ounces, so I was short changed) whilst working on John Crow peak in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, so it was good coffee. I sat down and put my coffee on the ground next to me and instantly (unlike the coffee) half a dozen fancy coloured clegs dived into the cup! Yuk! I had to fish them out before drinking the coffee. Curiously, if I help the cup at waist height the clegs didn't bother it.

In the field, I'm more worried about the biggies, like Tabanus sudeticus, which make a drone fly look small.

[gote]

Fuschsii is most easily distinguished by the lower leaves which you do not have in the pictures.
I allow myself some doubt to the specification of the Dactylorhizas. Some of the distinguishing features change with the degree of maturity of the plant. I have seen a "maculata" turn into "majalis" in two years. (According to the key used).
I have just as you did found swarms of plants that exhibited various intermediate forms.
The strange thing is that Dactylorhiza maculata ssp maculata is tetraploid whereas ssp fuchsii is diploid.
Cheers
Göte