The New Mexico Rare Arthropod Resource

This species occurs in the Chihuahuan Desert ecoregion. Where it has been recorded at White Sands National Park, it is found in the interdune areas (Metzler and Landry 2016). There are many moth species endemic to the gypsum dues of White Sands, though this species has also been recorded at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. This site is predominantly pinyon-juniper woodlands and associated shrublands (NPS 2020). Specific habitat needs are unknown, as the larval form and host plant of Chionodes bustosrum is unknown (Metzler and Landry 2016).

This moth is known from the Tularosa Basin of Otero County in southern New Mexico, within White Sands National Park (Metzler and Landry 2016), and has also been identified farther north in Socorro County, within the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument (GBIF.org 2024). With increased survey effort, the species may be found in additional occurrences.

This species occurs in White Sands National Park, which is the world’s largest white gypsum sand field and is completely protected from resource extraction and development (Metzler et al. 2009). The neighboring dune area is managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) White Sands Missile Range, so the degree of disturbance affecting this moth’s habitat there is unknown. This species is also found at the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, which is also protected from development and resource extraction. However, neither site manages habitat for this species specifically. This species is poorly understood. Research on the distribution, population size and trend, habitat and life history, and the impact of threats is needed.

Threats to this species are not well understood, though there are notable threats to the habitats where the species is found. The White Sands dune field is an ecosystem at risk of instability due to extensive groundwater extraction on the eastern edge of the Tularosa Basin. Hydrologic modeling has shown that increased groundwater pumping in response to increased temperatures and drought conditions will lead to water level decreases up to 1.5 meters. The dune field only exists as a permanent landscape feature because the gypsum sands are held in place at the base by water weight wicked up from the ground, so a decrease in water resources could result in increased sand motility, and therefore instability of the interdune habitats where herbivorous insects live (Bourret 2015).

Groundwater extraction is more heavily utilized in periods of drought and increased temperatures. The Southwestern U.S. saw its driest 22-year period from 2000 to 2021, since at least 800 CE (the time period used in previous climatic reconstructions) (Williams et al. 2022). Droughts are projected to become more prolonged, severe, and common in the region under future climate change scenarios (USGCRP 2018). The impact of drought on specific Lepidoptera populations is not well understood, though advanced timing to adulthood has been observed in some butterfly species, which may lead to phenological mismatch with plant resources (Forister et al. 2018). Drought may also adversely impact larval host plants and nectar sources (Pettorelli et al. 2007, Gottfried et al. 2012). In addition, Chionodes bustosorum is endemic to the state of New Mexico and endemic species are on average at three times higher risk of extinction from threat of climate change than other native species (Manes et al. 2021). 

White Sands is also threatened by invasive species, in particular Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.), which creeps into the interdune areas where the water table is high and outcompetes native plants while increasing soil salinity (Hager 1998). Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is also impacted by invasive species; it has an estimated 2.5% exotic plant cover (Korb 2011).

The population size and trend are not known for this species. It is rarely collected and there are very few records, but this has been attributed to under sampling of Lepidoptera in the region where it is found (Metzler et al. 2009, Metzler and Landry 2016)

• Moth Photographers Group. 2024. 45533. http://mothphotographersgroup.msstate.edu
• Metzler, E.H. and Landry, J.-F.. 2016. The Lepidoptera of White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico, USA 10. A remarkable new white species of Chionodes Hübner (Gelechiidae). Zootaxa 4109.
• Metzler, E.H.. 2021. The remarkable endemism of moths in White Sands National Park. News of the Lepidopterists’ Society 63: (156-162).
• Metzler, E., Bustos, D. and Forbes, G.. 2009. The Lepidoptera of White Sands National Monument, Otero County, New Mexico, USA 1. Two new species of Noctuidae (Lepidoptera, Noctuinae, Agrotini). Zookeys 9: (47-62).
• Manes, S., Costello, M.J., Beckett, H., Debnath, A., Devenish-Nelson, E., Grey, K.-A., Jenkins, R., Khan, T.M., Kiessling, W., Krause, C., Maharaj, S.S., Midgley, G.F., Price, J., Talukdar, G. and Vale, M.M. . 2021. Endemism increases species’ climate change risk in areas of global biodiversity importance. Biological Conservation 257.
• National Park Service (NPS). 2020. Salinas Pueblo Missions: Nature and Science. August 29th. https://www.nps.gov/sapu/learn/nature/index.htm
• Hager, S.B.. 1998. The thermoregulatory and reproductive behavior of the lesser earless lizard, Holbrookia maculata, at White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico .
• Korb, J.E.. 2011. Inventory of exotic plant species occurring in Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO .
• Bourret, S.M.. 2015. Stabilization of the White Sands gypsum dune field, New Mexico, by groundwater seepage: a hydrological modeling study.. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, New Mexico .
• Pettorelli, N., Pelletier, F., von Hardenberg, A., Festa-Bianchet, M. and Côté S.D. 2007. Early onset of vegetation growth vs rapid green-up: impacts on juvenile mountain ungulates. Ecology 88: (381-390).
• Gottfried, M., Pauli, H., Futschik, A., et al. 2012. Continent-wide response of mountain vegetation to climate change. Nature Climate Change 2: (111-115).
• Hobern, D., Sattler, K. and Lee, S.. 2023. Catalogue of World Gelechiidae. Catalogue of Life Checklist (1.1.23.315) 2024. https://doi.org/10.48580/dfrdl-4th
• Forister, M.L., Fordyce, J.A., Nice, C.C., Thorne, J.H., Waetjen, D.P. and Shapiro, A.M.. 2018. Impacts of a millennium drought on butterfly faunal dynamics. Climate Change Responses 5: (9-Jan).
• GBIF.org. 2024. GBIF Occurrence Download. 2024. https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.uyfkj4