Polites sabuleti (Sandhill Skipper) | Natural Heritage New Mexico

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Hesperiidae

Genus: Polites

Species: sabuleti

Sandhill Skipper - Polites sabuleti

375975

Species Extent (New Mexico)

Global Rank: G4

State Rank: S2

Rank Metadata
State Rank: S2	Rank Changed: 05/09/2025
Rank Reviewed: 07/31/1996
Reason: The Sandhill Skipper has a large Extent of Occurrence of 101,320km2 however, it has a relatively small Area of Occupancy of just 54km2 and is only known from 30 occurrences. The species also faces a wide variety including many that are pervasive in the state and have widespread footprints.The species has also recently been reported to be severely declining across its range although little data from New Mexico was available to be used in this calculation. Population size and trend information in New Mexico would be helpful to illuminate this trend although New Mexico sits at the south of the species range and is likely disproportionally threatened by drought and climate change when compared with the rest of the species range. As a result, the species is currently assessed as S2 in New Mexico however, a reassesment is needed if more information becomes available.

Ecological Factors
Specificity: Moderate. Generalist or community with some key requirements scarce.	Range Extent: 20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Occurences: 21 - 80	Population Size: Unknown
Area of Occupancy: This species has an Area of Occupancy of 54km2 which was calculated using GeoCat with GBIF.org points from New Mexico (GBIF.org (09 May 2025) GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.8h2zqd).	Threat Summary: N/A

State Status:

Federal Status:

USFS Status:

BLM Status:

SWAP Status:

NMRP Strategy Status:

Number of Subpopulations: 3

Number of Mapped Locations: 3

Number of Observations: 0

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