Local in oak woodland and oak scrub throughout England. Sparsely recorded in Hampshire, and more frequent in the southern half. Not recorded from the Isle of Wight since 1900. Wingspan 14-17 mm. As an adult, the main confusion species are
C. betulella, in which the costal cilia are not tipped white, and
C. ibipennella, which shares the white-tipped cilia of
C. kuehnella, but which is normally smaller and has the base of the cilia blackish rather than grey (MBGBI Vol 3). Larva mines leaves of Oak, living within a distinctive case with a characteristic 'bubble' appearance; case length 8 mm.