[1] The genus Scirpophaga was first introduced by Georg Friedrich Treitschke in 1832 as a monotypic genus; Treitschke gives as etymology for the generic epithet the word Scirpus, a type of plant commonly known as a "rush", and the Ancient Greek word φαγεῖν (transliterated phageîn), which means "to eat".

[6][7] The holotype is a female specimen from India kept at the Zoologisk Museum in Copenhagen, with the genitalia on a slide numbered 3602.

[10] According to Chen & Wu it is found in China (including Henan, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Hong Kong, Guangxi, Yunnan), Taiwan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, on the Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, western Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia (including Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Timor, Aru Islands), New Guinea, Australia, New Caledonia and Fiji.

[6][12] Because most of the distribution is garnered from misidentified collections made over the past century, of the sources above only Lewvanich can be accepted as trustworthy, and it is unclear where exactly the species occurs.

[5] The Indian agronomic entomologist Dhamo K. Butani documented a Temelucha species parasitising the moth in rice fields in India.

Then it bores further to the upper portion of stem, causing "dead heart" symptoms as the top of the shoot dies off.

Gradually, side branches start growing from a lower node, giving a characteristic "bunchy top" appearance to the plant.

Spraying low dosages of malathion, endosulfan or carbofuran during the period the moths lay their eggs has been effective.