[1] This species was first described by entomologists Baron Cajetan von Felder and Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer in 1875 under the name Chlenias egregia.

[3] This species resembles the North Island lichen moth but has fewer and coarser wing markings.

Larger larvae, up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long, look like lichen-covered twigs and hold themselves stiffly out from the host plant by their prolegs.

[5] The moth overwinters as a pupa on the forest floor, in a loosely-spun cocoon encrusted with dirt.

[5] The South Island lichen moth appears on the New Zealand $100 note alongside a mōhua, with a backdrop of Fiordland National Park.