Wingspan 10 to 15 mm. This species has a relatively plain whitish form as well as a yellowish-streaked form.

Occupies heathy habitats where the foodplant grows.

The adult moths fly in June and July.

Feeding on Birch (Betula) leaves, the larvae of this species create a distinctive 'pistol' shaped case from silk, rather like the closely related C. ibipennella, which feeds on oak. Indeed, at one time they were believed to be conspecific.

The species is distributed thinly in England and Wales as far north as Cumbria. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as local.

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