It is native to and widely distributed in North America,[1][2] but is an introduced species in Europe, where it was first reported near Basel, Switzerland, in 1983.

The mine begins as an elongate serpentine track which enlarges to an elongate-oval, whitish blotch located on one side of the midrib and usually on the underside of the leaflet.

Eventually the mine becomes slightly tentiform due to the silk laid down by the later instar larvae.

The earliest instars are highly modified sapfeeders with strongly depressed bodies and reduced chaetotaxy with a maximum length 3.7 mm.

[2] Fifty seven parasitoid species (including two unidentified) of Hymenoptera are recorded for M. robiniella, the great majority of which belongs to the family Eulophidae.