This caddisfly-like lineage of primitive moths was first reported by Lionel Jack Dumbleton in 1952, as a new genus of Micropterigidae.

[1] The caterpillars feed only on "kauri" (Agathis) and are currently considered the second most primitive living lineage of moths after Micropterigoidea.

[2] The larvae have been reported to be able to survive for 12 years in diapause,[3] durability possibly a prerequisite to its possible dispersion around the Pacific islands in the seeds of Agathis.

Agathiphaga queenslandensis is found along the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, and its larvae feed on Agathis robusta.

A fossil member of Agathiphagidae, Agathiphagama, is known from the Burmese amber of Myanmar, dating to the early Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 99 million years ago.