Late Spider-orchid (Ophrys fuciflora)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Herbaceous plant |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Ophrys fuciflora |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Crantz) Moench |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | This highly localised species of well-grazed chalk grassland, has been found in around 12 sites since 2000, of which 9 were supporting plants in 2022/23. The total number of inflorescences recorded in recent years is ca. 350-360 spikes. It rarely colonises new sites so its survival depends on careful management of existing locations. Most of these already receive protection, but this is no guarantee that they'll receive the management they need. Additional threats include grazing by rabbits, spring droughts (leading to abortion of flowering), introgression with Ophrys apifera, and trampling from photographers. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Sites must be managed to maintain the tightly-grazed short-sward chalk downland habitat the species requires. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | The species is not very mobile and rarely occupies new sites. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | All colonies are well monitored each by volunteers with detailed counts of inflorescences. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: At all sites where the species occurs, provide appropriate grazing and management to maintain the short, species-rich grassland the orchid requires.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: North Downs in SE England
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Provide smaller, more vulnerable sites and in particular new populations, with appropriate management so they don't succumb to undergrazing (coarse vegetation and scrub encroachment), overgrazing (e.g. rabbits) or other disturbance or development.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: North Downs in SE England
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Take steps to reduce trampling by photographers at main sites by, for example, raising awareness of issues though provision of signage and using social media to encouraging visits to well managed/accessible sites.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: Unknown
High priority sites:
Comments: Photography of rare orchids is gaining in popularity as social media has grown, and trampling of sites is having an increasing impact on sensitive sites.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.