This honeyeater occurs in the Wet Tropics of north-eastern Queensland, Australia. In a comparative study, the form called imitatrix looked darker and more olive-green than the other Graceful Honeyeater form.
In Wet Tropics imitatrix, the yellow ear spot has a faint extension at its top and appears more elongated or wedge-shaped than in the compared gracilis form.
The paper records imitatrix in lowland rainforest, especially rainforest edges, adjacent open forest, and parks and gardens, up to about 500 m. It says the form does not inhabit extensive dry open woodland.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.