Nationally scarce (Na) where lichens and moss are common in southern England, with records north to Yorkshire. In Hampshire known from only a handful of sites in the south of the county, at Denny Wood, Bramshaw Woods and in and around Fareham, where apparently widespread. Not recorded from the Isle of Wight to date. Wingspan male 9-13 mm, female wingless. The adult moths are seen occasionally, but most records are of larval cases. Larva feeds on lichens growing on rocks, tree trunks, fence posts and old walls, living within a movable case.