Mirificarma eburnella is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Gelechiidae

Gelechiidae

Gelechiidae is a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the Gelechiidae's relationships with and delimitation against their relatives have been subject to considerable...

 family. It is found in western, central and southern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and extends to North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

, the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It is also found in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 where it is presumed to have been introduced.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 5-7.5 mm for males and 5.5-7.5 mm for females. The head is cream. The forewings have alternating strongly contrasting, transverse zig-zag patches of cream and yellowish to ochre. Adults have been collected from March to July in Europe and in May and June in North America.

The larvae feed on Medicago sativa, Medicago lupulina

Medicago lupulina

Medicago lupulina is a summer annual or perennial plant usually considered a weed. It has a tap root. Like other legumes, it has three leaflets; its center leaflet is on a separate petiole...

, Medicago polymorpha

Medicago polymorpha

Medicago polymorpha is a plant species of the genus Medicago. It is native to the Mediterranean basin but is found throughout the world. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium medicae, which is capable of nitrogen fixation...

, Trifolium repens, Trifolium hirtum

Trifolium hirtum

Trifolium hirtum is a species of clover known by the common name rose clover. It is native to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It is present elsewhere as an introduced species and it is cultivated as a cover crop and animal fodder...

, Vicia americana

Vicia americana

Vicia americana is a species of legume in the vetch genus known by the common names American vetch and purple vetch. It includes a subspecies known as mat vetch. It is a climbing perennial forb that grows from both taproot and rhizome. The leaves are each made up of oblong leaflets and have...

and Hippocrepis comosa. Larvae have been found in April and May. This species has caused
severe damage to clover in California where the larva semiskeletonizes the leaves and
lightly spins two leaves together, pupating inside the folded leaves.