O. medea was first described from the island of Cres, Croatia by Devillers and Devillers-Terschuren in 2004 and is a member of the O. tetraloniae group of Ophrys. It is named after Medea, the princess of Colchis in Greek mythology.

This species is endemic to Croatia, having a limited distribution from Istria south to Zadar including the larger islands of the Kvarner archipelago. It is the third of the Croatian fuciflorid species to flower, coming into bloom in May, at least two weeks after O. untchjii and O. istriensis, perhaps a week before O. dinarica and O. tetraloniae. It is not a common species, being found in short grassland, unkempt meadows, grassy road verges and abandoned terraces on most suitable calcareous substrates.

O. medea can be found growing alongside other fuciflorid species and hybridization is widely recorded which when taken with natural species variation can complicate identification. The most characteristic feature of this Ophrys is the white or pale pink perianth, a feature common in the much smaller O. tetraloniae and not uncommon in O. untchjii (known only from the south of Istria).. Separating O. medea from the pink sepalled variety of its cousin can be difficult. In general however, O. medea normally exhibits, longer, more acuminate petals and sepals, more developed, often outwardly splayed basal swellings and a somewhat smaller appendage. It is a similarly tallish plant (up to 30cms) but much less robust and carrying up to ten medium sized and widely spaced flowers.

The pictures are from the Istrian peninsula, dating from the first week of May, at which time they were just beginning to appear.