Nolidae

74.0095 Sallow Nycteoline Nycteola degenerana (Hübner, [1799])

Immigrant

Similar species: Oak Nycteoline Nycteola revayana is on average slightly smaller with narrower wings, but has similar pale forms. Please check the genitalia.

Forewing: 12 to 13mm

Habitats: In Europe it is found in sallow rich areas including the understory of pine forest. It is widely distributed in Europe across to the Baltic, Poland and Russia and north to Scandinavia. Although it is found locally in the Alps, it is now rare in the rest of Central and Southern Europe.

Habits: The moth comes to light. The first confirmed record in Britain was at Wintersett Country Park, West Yorkshire on 3rd September 2022. There have been two previous unconfirmed records in the 19th Century in Kent and one in the New Forest, Hampshire in 1905.

Foodplant: On the European mainland the green larva feeds in spun shoot tips of Goat Willow and similar willows. It pupates in a tough, boat-shaped cocoon on the underside of a twig or a leaf.