Charles Edwin Clarke discussed this species stating that it and its close relatives were active and able to be collected in damp mists before sunrise.

This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1888 using a male specimen collected in Christchurch in August and named Mallobathra microphanes.

[2] The placement by Dugdale of this species into the genus Reductoderces was confirmed in the Inventory of New Zealand Biodiversity.

[5][9] Charles Edwin Clarke stated that the adults of this species are active and able to be collected in damp mists before sunrise.

[7] The larvae of this species inhabit long, flanged cases which can be found on cliff-faces, tree trunks or stones.