Local in grassland and open woodland throughout England and Wales. The distribution in Hampshire mirrors those areas in which trapping effort is concentrated, and the moth is probably more widely distributed than the records suggest; very infrequently recorded from the Isle of Wight. Wingspan 18-19 mm. The combination of remarkable, tufted labial palps and white costal streak is shared by the superficially similar
Pleurota bicostella, which see. Larva feeds within lower stems of Sweet Vernal-grass.