The larvae tend to form communal webs,[1] and some are minor pests in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture.

The traditional morphology based taxonomy of Kyrki (1990) divided Yponomeutidae into six subfamilies, but this circumscription is not found to be monophyletic in molecular phylogenetic analyses.

The heads mostly have smooth scales, the haustellum is naked and the labial palps are curved upwards.

The larvae are leaf-webbers, leaf skeletonizers, leafminers or needleminers and are found on a variety of host plants.

[4] Better-known species include: The word Yponomeutidae comes from the Ancient Greek ὑπό (ypo) meaning under and νομός (nomós) meaning food or dwelling, thus "feeding secretly, or burrow".