''Chionodes helicosticta'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

in the family

Gelechiidae The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable d ...

. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is 19–22 mm. The forewings are rather dark fuscous with a short black subcostal dash near the base, preceded and followed by whitish-brown scales or marks, sometimes a black dot beyond this. A shorter black pale-tipped dash is found on the fold somewhat beyond this. The discal stigmata are darker, laterally edged by ochreous-white scales, or sometimes reduced to pale ochreous dots, with the plical rather darker or sometimes blackish, preceded and followed by white scales, obliquely before the first discal. A faint spot of pale ochreous suffusion is found on the costa at two-thirds and there is a marginal series of small indistinct blackish dots around the posterior part of the costa and termen, sometimes accompanied by minute ochreous-white dots. The hindwings are light bluish-grey.Exot. Microlep. 3 (16): 490
/ref> The larvae feed on ''

Eriogonum nudum ''Eriogonum nudum'' is a perennial shrub of the wild buckwheat genus which is known by the common name naked buckwheat or nude buckwheat. Description The ''Eriogonum nudum'' plant is a tall, bare, leafless stem, bifurcating into more stems, ...

''.

References

Chionodes Moths described in 1929 Moths of North America {{Chionodes-stub