This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1911, using a specimen collected by Alfred Philpott at West Plains in Invercargill, and was named Simaethis colpota.

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

[2] The holotype female specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.

Forewings elongate, rather dilated posteriorly, costa slightly arched, apex obtuse, termen bowed, rather oblique; dark bronzy-fuscous, basal and terminal areas finely sprinkled with whitish; two parallel rather curved irregular transverse lines of whitish irroration about 2⁄5; a transverse line of whitish irroration from a white mark on costa at 3⁄5, its upper 2⁄3 forming a strong irregular curve outwards, thence right-angled to dorsum at 3⁄5; its upper 2⁄3 forming a strong irregular curve outwards, thence right-angled to dorsum at 3⁄5; a transverse linear mark of whitish irroration terminated beneath by a white dot lying within this curve and almost touching it at both ends; a thick subterminal shade of whitish irroration, somewhat interrupted above middle: cilia dark fuscous with some whitish points, beneath apex and above tornus with some whitish points, beneath apex and above tornus with white apical patches.

[3]Meyrick stated that this species was similar in appearance to Asterivora combinatana but that it could be distinguished from it via the discal mark as well as the second line on the forewings.