Have you ever seen males of a solitary bee species sleeping?

During the night the females of solitary bee species usually sleep or rest inside the nest (made mainly in wood or soil), taking care of her brood, of course. But what about the males?

The life of males of bee species is generally a little known. After emerging, males begin to search females for mating. This process consists in intercepting the female during her flight or mating directly on the flower while the female is foraging. Besides, the males also interact with each other while delimiting their territories. However, while females are resting in her nest what do they use to do?

They also rest! Instead of resting inside the nest, they usually do in flowers or flower buds as you see in the picture.

Here are two Lanthanomelissa males resting. These were sleeping during the morning...

The photo was captured in Rio Grande do Sul (Pro-Mata) in december 2010.