This species was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1897 using a specimen collected by George Hudson at Castle Hill.

[8] At present this species is in an unrevised group and is regarded by some experts as lacking clear diagnostic features and not being distinguishable from X.

[4] Hudson also points out that the hindwings are dark ochreous in colour and lack the transverse markings of X.

[5] The host plants for the larvae of this species are unknown but are likely to be low growing herbs in the family Brassicaceae.

[12][10] This species has been classified as having the "At Risk, Naturally Uncommon" conservation status under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

[9] This species is regarded as being under threat as most of its lowland habitat is now highly modified by introduced plants.