The larvae feed on a variety of herbaceous plants such as Plantago and Convolvulus species, Plagianthus divaricatus.

This species was described by Edward Meyrick in 1929 from a specimen collected by George Vernon Hudson in winter in Wellington.

[2] Hudson described the grown larvae as follows: Length... about 31 mm, stout, cylindrical, slightly tapering towards head, with very pronounced hindslope.

Underside of larva, legs and prolegs dull ochreous-brown, faintly tinged with green.

Forewings elongate-triangular, termen obliquely rounded, crenulate; pale ochreous, basal half irrorated grey-whitish; subbasal, first, and second lines only indicated by brownish margins on costa; a fine dark reddish-brown median dash from base to 1⁄4, irregularly thickened near base; an oblique reddish-brown spot mixed blackish from dorsum towards base; roundish orbicular and smaller also round claviform beneath it outlined dark reddish-fuscous and tinged red-brownish internally, reniform ear-shaped, anterior edge formed by a double reddish-fuscous but posterior only faintly indicated, these spots united and orbicular also preceded by red-brownish suffusion forming a large median discal subquadrate patch, cubitus within this and shortly before it blackish-grey; from this patch an irregular thick dark reddish-fuscous streak runs along vein 2 to termen, vein tinged dark grey; subterminal line indicated by an obscure whitish shade cutting this streak and slightly edged brownish anteriorly near costa, on veins 3 and 4 forming two long well-defined dentations reaching termen, space between these and above them as far as vein 6 suffused dark brown except on termen, terminal area otherwise ochreous-whitish: cilia brown, slightly barred whitish.

Hindwings pale greyish, suffusedly irrorated dark grey, obscurely indicating a discal spot, post-median line, and terminal band in which are two cloudy whitish elongate spots below middle.

[2] They have been recorded as feeding, either in the wild or when reared, on Plantago and Convolvulus species, Plagianthus divaricatus,[7] Bromus willdenowii and Poa annua.