O.dinarica was first described by Kranciev and Delforge from Lika, Croatia in 2004 and its name refers to its discovery in the vicinity of Mount Dinara. It's a member of the 22 strong O. tetraloniae group which take their name from the tetralonia genus of bees representing the most significant pollinators of this family of Ophrys.
Historically it was thought that O. dinarica could only be found locally in the valleys around Mount Dinara in Croatia but subsequent sightings of morphologically very similar plants led to the conclusion that a disjunct population of the species was present in the Appenine Mountains of central peninsula Italy. In 2015 however Delforge revised this opinion and formally described the Italian plants as a new taxon named O. personata.
This is a hugely variable orchid that is capable of mimicking several other of the O. tetraloniae group species with which it grows. A key identifying characteristic is the partial or complete division of the basal field into two separate spheres, very similar to O. personata but as with that species and despite the fact that it is most frequently photographed in this form, this feature occurs only sporadically and in less than a half of the population. Other distinguishing features are the multi toothed appendage which is extremely well developed, the elongated column and the portly waistline. The basal swellings are generally robust, conical with yellow inside faces and a lip that may be strongly scolopaxoid with a usually complex, often confused specular pattern.
The pictures are all from the Drnis district, north of Split, dating from mid May.
