As the type species of its genus Oecophora, its affiliations and phylogeny (which are not completely known however) determine the delimitation of that family and subfamily.

The adult moths fly from May to July depending on the location; they are semi-diurnal and can be encountered during the day, but usually are active at dawn.

After the genus Oecophora had been established, its type species was set to be the Tinea sulphurella described by J.C. Fabricius in 1777.

Subsequent authors placed Linnaeus' species in the related genus Alabonia, while Fabricius' homonymy lingered on into the 20th century.

Eventually this was all sorted out, when it was realized that the supposedly different species of Linnaeus and Fabricius were one and the same, and O. bractella has since been known under its current name.