These he found very similar to the genus Batrachedra, but distinct on the basis of the adult males possessing a "single, strong, apical spine on the ampulla" (also known as the harpe), the females he distinguished from those of Batrachedra by the "presence of long apophyses" and the "absence of a signum and accessory pouches, and the corpus bursae being poorly set off from the ductus bursae".

[3][4] Elwood Zimmerman included it in his subfamily Momphinae of the family Gelechiidae in his 1978 treatment of the microlepidoptera of Hawaii.

[7][8] The Global Lepidoptera Names Index of the Natural History Museum classifies the genus in the family Coleophoridae, although references are not provided to substantiate this placement.

[2][9] The etymology of the name for the genus Batrachedra is from two words, 'bactrach' is derived from batrachos, a frog, and edra, a seat (which refers to the particular resting position of the imagoes).

[4] Chedra fimbristyli is a nuisance species in a minor traditional fibre plant locally used in the Philippines.