This species was originally described by Francis Walker in 1863 using a female specimen collected by Dr. A. Sinclair in Auckland and named Crambus sabulosellus.

[4] George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1928 publication The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand, also using the name Scoparia sabulosella.

Despite this variation, E. sabulosella can be distinguished from similar species as it always has a pale ochreous ground colour to the forewings, along with two distinct blackish dots.

[7] The adult moths have been recorded as visiting and likely feeding from the flowers of Corokia cotoneaster, Dracophyllum acerosum, Helichrysum intermedium, Lobelia angulata, Olearia virgata, Pimelea sericeovillosa.

[7][8] The adult moths pollinate Olearia virgata, Helichrysum selago, Praria angulata, Corokia cotoneaster, Dracophyllum acerosum and Pimelea sericeo-villosa.