T. lestevata was first described by
Francis Walker in 1862 using specimens collected in
Nelson by T. R. Oxley and named
Cidaria lestevata. In 1874 Arthur Gardiner Butler placed this species in the genus
Tatosoma. In 1875 Rudolf Felder, Cajetan von Felder and Alois Friedrich Rogenhofer, thinking they were describing a new species, named it
Sauris ranata. This name was subsequently synonymised by Edward Meyrick.
George Vernon Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in both his 1898 book
New Zealand moths and butterflies (Macro-lepidoptera) and his 1928 book
The Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand. The male
lectotype is held at the
Natural History Museum, London. == Description ==