Description: Wingspan 29-31mm. Adults are generally grey with darker cross lines. The forewings are often heavily mottled, making it difficult to distinguish the cross lines. Double-brooded, from mid-May to mid-June and again from late July to early September.

Irish Distribution: Widely distributed but local with the majority of recent records from west Fermanagh where the species has been found recently at several well-known localities such as Garvary Wood, Monawilkin and Legalough. It has also been taken at Rostrevor Oakwood NNR, Down, the first record for many years. Other recent records include Davagh Forest, Tyrone, Slieve Gullion Forest Park, Armagh, the Umbra, Londonderry and Fair Head, Antrim. The lack of regular recording in many of these upland areas makes it difficult to ascertain the current status of many of these upland species.

Ecology: A species normally associated with moorland and upland regions in N. Ireland. It does however occur in a few coastal localities. It probably would prove more widespread in other upland regions if looked for at the appropriate time. The larvae can be found from summer through to autumn on bedstraws Galium spp. It overwinters as a larva.

Key Identification Features:

• Darker cross lines
• White broken lines along the outer margin of forewings

Distribution Map from NBN: Nebula salicata at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Nebula salicata at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.