As in all subspecies of Anacamptis morio it produces no nectar and therefore it is reliant upon deceit to attract insects. It settles in meadow-like places in shrub vegetation (Macchia, Garigue). Populations with large number of specimens appear, e.g., on the stony hill pasture areas bare of shrub in central Sicily. In the mountains it climbs - partially in the southern distribution area- up to a height of2,000 m. It does not differ from ssp. morio with regards to its demands of the subsoil.
The southwestern Mediterranean area of ssp. longicornu reaches from the extreme southern point of Italy over Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica to the Balearic Islands. In North Africa, a narrow coastal strip is settled in northwestern Algeria. Further to the west in Morocco the taxon is replaced by the subspecies champagneuxii.
