This species inhabits native forest, coastal dunes and shrubland as well as cultivated gardens and orchards.

[2] The female holotype specimen, collected in Blenheim, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.

Legs pale whitish-ochreous, anterior pair infuscated, apex of posterior tibiae grey.

Forewings elongate, very narrow broadest near base, long-pointed; whitish-ochreous, sometimes yellowish-tinged; markings grey, very variable, sometimes partially margined by an ochreous suffusion; normally an elongate spot on inner margin at 1⁄3, a second beneath costa in middle, a third in disc at 2⁄3, a fourth before apex, and a slender subcostal line from second spot to costa near apex, but these tend to be variously connected and confused; sometimes a streak along fold, or along anterior part of costa; rarely a dark ochreous-fuscous suffusion towards base of inner margin : cilia light grey, sometimes ochreous-tinged.

[1][5][7] S. skelloni is found in a variety of habitats including native forest, coastal dunes, shrubland as well as cultivated gardens and orchards.

[7] The larvae of this species feed on a variety of native and introduced plants including dried gorse flowers, seeds and flowers of flax species, raupō seeds as well as fruits of lemonwood.