O. expansa was first described as O. tenthredenifera var. expansa from Apulia, Italy by Lumare and Medagli in 2018 and subsequently promoted to full species status by Kreutz et al in 2022. It is a member of the O. tenthredenifera group of Ophrys and its name refers to the extensive speculum.

Its range is reported as restricted to southern Puglia and most particularly to the Province of Lecce near the coastal town of San Cataldo where it is both declining and threatened further by tourist and agricultural development. The first 4 photos depict plants with proportions and morphology that fit precisely into the type description of O. expansa but which come from a location some 250kms to the west, on the coast just south of Agropoli in the province of Salerno. The next three photos come from the locus typicus in Lecce where very few examples could be found but those that were present, despite otherwise conforming to type, did not possess the extensive specular markings. Given that on the basis of size alone, the plants could not be mistaken for O. tardans or O. neglecta which grew nearby, they are presented as simply poorly marked examples of the species.

O. expansa was originally thought to be a large flowered variety of O. tardans with a (usually) extensive speculum, an understandable view given that it grew in close association with that species and that as yet the identity of its pollinator has not been established. Apart from its larger size O. expansa exhibits a significantly larger hair tuft above the appendage and is less often seen to produce dark phase flowers.

The pictures date from  the third week of April.