Head white; forewing ground colour white, a white basal streak edged at both sides with dark brown scales; the inner space between these lines can be filled with light or dark brown scales; four costal streaks of which the second is prolonged till the dorsum; dorsal half of apical area ochreous; a conspicuous black spot in the apical area from which two hooks depart into the cilia forming a horizontal "V", plus an inconspicuous third hook pointing downwards.

Whitish green.

A long, narrow winding, translucent corridor on either side of a leaf. Most of the time, young leaves at the end of a branch are preferred. The caterpillar can move to different leaves via the leaf stem. Frass in a sometimes inconspicuous, and often interrupted central line.
See also gracillariidae.net and bladmineerders.be.

Not a real cocoon, but a flimsy spinning.

The eggs are oviposited on either side of a leaf.
Pupation in a flimsy membrane at the end of the mine under a fold of the leaf margin.
The adults are active at dusk. The species hibernate in the adult stage, the adults hide in thatch or hayricks.

The species lives mainly on Salix alba, but it has been recorded from several other Salix species with narrow leaves.