Too cold to fly...

Cuckoo bee (Thyreus sp.)

Yesterday was the first really cold day of autumn around here, and a lot of creatures begun having trouble. Like this little cuckoo bee which, unable to fly at this temperature, decided to wait it out, grabbing hold of a lavender leaf with its mandibles (traditional sleeping stance of solitary bees).

Lots of different bee species are called "cuckoo bees", because of their parasitic habit of laying their eggs in other bees' nests. They are unable to gather pollen or build their own nests. For more information see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_bee

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