Wingspan 11 to 13 mm. Ground colour of this species seems to vary from pale brown to much darker almost black specimens.

Occurring in orchards and gardens.

The adult moths occur between May and September, and are sometimes attracted to garden light-traps.

The larvae feed inside small twigs of apple, mining under the surface and causing the shoot to die off.

Widely but thinly distributed in England, it is even more local in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as Nationally Scarce B.

It appears to be uncommon in Leicestershire and Rutland, where there are few records. L&R Moth Group status = D (rare or rarely recorded).