Some authors place the group as a subfamily of the family Lyonetiidae.

Adults of this family are easily overlooked, being very small with narrow wings wrapped around the body at rest.

When small, the larvae are leaf-miners, forming distinctive brown blotches on leaves.

The pupal cases have distinctive longitudinal ridges, leading to members of the family commonly being called ribbed cocoon makers.

Some authors recognize just a single large genus, Bucculatrix, although two Australian genera, Cryphioxena and the scribbly gum moths (Ogmograptis spp.)