Males defend only the largest shrubs in the population, whereas females visit shrubs of all sizes to feed, dependent only on whether the shrub has open flowers. Females mate only once, immediately upon emergence and before they begin to feed. This research has not yet been published because the population of L. miscellus crashed during the drought of the late 80's, and is only now recovering to allow adequate sample sizes for testing these hypotheses. This project is available for a Master's student. Lordotus pulchrissimus The life histories of male and female L. pulchrissimus also center on the distribution and blooming of rabbitbrush, Chrysothamnus nauseosus .
Males engage in true lek territoriality, gathering each morning at traditional locations.
Early in the cool morning, males warm on the sand below the aerial swarm, and when a sufficient body temperature is achieved for strenuous hovering flight and chases, the male returns to the swarm. The air circulation generated by the rapidly beating wings cools the male, more rapidly in the cooler morning temperatures than later in mid-morning. By 11 am, temperatures have risen sufficiently to allow males to remain continuously in the air. At this time, all males present at a lek site are engaged in territorial activity, i.e., frequent attacks and chases in the swarm, perhaps as males vie for some sort of optimal position in the swarm. Not surprisingly, females ready to mate arrive at the lek sites then, with the majority of copulations occurring in the half hour around 11 am.