These Common Spotted Orchids can be found all over the grassland now we have had a few days of sunshine, although they are later coming through than in previous years.
This is the most common of all UK orchids and can grow in a variety of habitats.
The flowers range from white through pale pink to purple.
They have darker spots and stripes on their three-lobed flowers and dark spots on their leaves
We have only heard of one single Bee Orchid spotted on Cowbar grassland so far this year, perhaps because of the very wet spring.
The velvety flower is designed to look like a female bee. This draws the male bee in and so pollen is passed from flower to flower.
The right bee species for this doesn’t live in the UK so Bee Orchids here are self-pollinating.