Their scientific name Ophrys is the Greek word for "eyebrow", referring to the furry edges of the lips of several species.

They are terrestrial or ground orchids from central to South Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, up to the Caucasus Mountains, but mostly in the Mediterranean region.

[5] During summer, all Ophrys orchids are dormant as underground bulbous tubers, which serve as a food reserve.

[4] Ophrys like other orchids are dependent on symbiotic fungi at some point during their life cycle, but especially for germination, which may take months or even years underground.

[5] These species are successfully cultivated by specialist growers of terrestrial orchids and are reported to be difficult to grow, being sensitive to rotting and damping off diseases if not properly subjected to a cool and dry aestivation period over the summer months with no water.

[7] These signals stimulate mating behavior in the male pollinators, which then attempt copulation, called "pseudocopulation", with the orchid labellum.

[9][10][11] While the morphological cues such as the shape and texture of the labellum play a role especially at close range in inducing the pollinator mating behavior, the orchid's pheromone mimic, or allomone, has been shown to play the most important role in enticing pollinators to the flower.

As of May 2024, this article follows the lead of Kew Botanical Garden's, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families in provisionally recognizing the following taxa:[20]