Ethmia berndkerni is a moth in the Depressariidae family. It is found in Costa Rica, where it has been recorded from the foothills of the Cordillera de Guanacaste (at altitudes between 150 and 800 meters), the northern Caribbean lowlands (at altitudes of about 200 meters, in the Cordillera Volcánica Central (at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,500 meters) and at the Península de Osa (at altitudes of about 200 meters). The habitat consists of rain forests. The larvae feed on Bourreria costaricensis.