Ethmia papiella is a moth in the Depressariidae family. It is found in the Sinaloan thornforest on the west coast of Mexico. The length of the forewings is 6.7-8.7 mm. The ground color of the forewings is gray, overlaid with whitish in varying intensity. There is a series of longitudinal black streaks. The ground color of the hindwings is whitish basally, becoming pale grayish distally. The costal area under the hair pencil is gray.