This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1914 using three specimens collected by Alfred Philpott in Invercargill.

[5] The male lectotype specimen, collected in Invercargill, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.

Forewings elongate, rather narrow, posteriorly dilated, costa gently arched, hardly sinuate in middle, apex obtuse, termen very obliquely rounded; whitish-ochreous, in one specimen purplish-fuscous except dorsal area; a cloudy blackish median longitudinal streak from base almost to apex; in the darker specimen second discal stigma indicated by a pale-ochreous spot touching median streak and pale dorsal area : cilia whitish-ochreous, in the darker specimen mixed with fuscous and dotted with darker at base.

Hindwings pale whitish-ochreous partially tinged with grey, especially on a suffused supramedian streak in disc; cilia ochreous-whitish.

Forewings broad-lanceolate, acuminate; purplish-fuscous, with whitish-ochreous dorsal area; second discal stigma represented by a cloudy ochreous-whitish spot ringed with dark fuscous.

[9] The larvae of this species form silk tunnels in the soil and then feed on leaf litter.