O. taigetica was first described from Sparta (Greece) by Presser and Hertel in 2010.

The range of this species is centered on the Taygetus mountains of the southern Peloponnese but is also known from a small number of other sites, primarily on high ground above 750 metres. It is possibly an under recorded species due to its similarity to O. aesculapii. The O. mammosa group of Ophrys are well represented in Greece, where hybridization is widespread and intermediate populations common. In its core mountain range however, O. taigetica does not encounter other group members and populations are regarded as pure.

This is not the case in its outlying sites where less certainty can be attached to its recognition. The photo opposite comes from a location east of the mountains and at a lower altitude, in the vicinity of Koumousta Laconia. Although it exhibits features of O. taigetica, its appearance is not typical and may be of hybrid origin. The photo to the left has been kindly provided by Helmut Presser and depicts a plant from the locus typicus.

O. taigetica is an orchid of sparse forest and flowers relatively late from the beginning of May.