Leaf-cutters: Not braving the wet weather

It has been a colder, very wet last few days. Bumblebees have been quite active, sometimes even during rain, their internal warming abilities allowing them to keep foraging at lower temperatures. The sun-loving leaf-cutters were not active through. On sunday, I spotted a male Megachile willughbiella, hiding in one of the holes of the bee hotel. His pale moustache and 'gloves' being very apparent in the dark hole (top). Yesterday, I came across a cold, wet and drowsy female sitting atop an Allium head, while Bombus pratorum bumblebees fed on the same flowers. She was still there today.

This evening, even the bee hotel was getting too wet. There was a damp patch around the hole where the male was hiding, and he was looking quite bedraggled. Slowly, he crawled outside the hole, looking for drier room, and probably wishing for sunnier times.