Common in woodland, hedgerows, heathland and fens throughout much of the British Isles, except for the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight common and widespread. Wingspan 10.5-14 mm. Like many of the Coleophora, imagines are virtually impossible to identify without recourse to dissection, and the larvae, which live in cases of characteristic form and which can sometimes be found on the foodplant, may be easier to identify by comparison against a reference collection. Larva mines leaves of Birch, Alder, Elm and Hazel, living within a movable case.