Adults are variable in size and colouration and are on the wing all year but most frequently from October until March.

It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1884 from specimens collected amongst native bush in January and obtained near Arthur's Pass and Dunedin and named Scoparia epicomia.

[3][4] In 1928 George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his book The butterflies and moths of New Zealand.

[7] The male lectotype, collected in Dunedin, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.

[5] Specimens obtained in the north tend to be brighter marked than those collected in the south of the country.