O. eos was first described from Elassona, Greece in 2004 by Devillers and Devillers-Terschuren having previously been known as subspecies orientalis. Its name refers to the Greek goddess of dawn Eos, sister of Helios the god of Sun.
This is one of the eastern Mediterranean's most widespread Ophrys, occurring throughout the region but in varying degrees of abundance. It can be found from southern Albania, the Ionian islands, across mainland Greece, through the Aegean to Turkey and beyond. Its close cousin is O. speculum, a very similar species that replaces O. eos in central and western Mediterranean countries, including north Africa. In Europe the boundaries between the two species are formed by the Adriatic coast of peninsula Italy and the borders of Croatia and Albania. The question of intermediate populations in these border areas does not seem to have been addressed and the authors cannot offer a view. O. eos is a small but distinctive orchid that cannot readily be confused with any other Ophrys within its range, apart from its rarer close relatives O. regis-fernandii and O. lusitanica with which there are some limited overlaps in range. Interestingly, in the Aegean O. eos is present on Lesbos, Samos and Kos whereas on Chios it is replaced by O. regis-fernandii whilst Rhodes maintains populations of both.
This is a small orchid and despite its distinctive flower, can be very easily overlooked in the field. It can grow to a height of 25cms but is usually no greater than 10cms, with a spike of perhaps 3 flowers. The flowers are relatively large and not hugely variable. The photos all come from the Peloponnese, dating from the last week of March.
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