Body bicoloured, brown on ocellar area, mesonotum, metanotum, antecostal ridges of abdominal tergites II–VII, lateral thirds of tergite II and anterolateral areas of III; antennal segments I–II yellow, III yellow with apex brown, IV–V yellow with apical third brown, VI–VIII brown; pronotal blotch light brown; fore wing bicoloured with basal, median and subapical brown bands in contrast to pale areas. Head with occipital apodeme distant from posterior margin of compound eyes, ocellar setae pair III near margins of ocellar triangle, which is smooth with very week striae. Pronotum striate with pronotal blotch pale; mesonotum striate, median setal pair anterior to the lateral; metanotum anterior half transversely striate, posterior half longitudinally striate, two pairs of setae on anterior margin; metasternal plate with very shallow anterior emargination. Fore wing second vein with no setae. Abdominal tergites II–V with posteromarginal comb of microtrichia incomplete medially, VI with irregularly spaced small teeth medially and VII–VIII with comb complete; tergite IX with 2 pairs of mid-dorsal setae; sternites III–VII with no microtrichia medially, few laterally.
Male not known.
Intraspecific variation
Not recorded.
Genus and similar species information
Almost 120 species are included in Neohydatothrips, most from tropical countries (Mound & Tree 2009). All of them have the abdominal sternites and lateral thirds of tergites covered by rows of fine microtrichia, with many of them being bicoloured and with banded fore wings. Neohydatothrips gaucho is similar to N. flavicollis but has the head yellow with the ocellar area brown. A key to the Neotropical species of Neohydatothrips is provided by Lima & Mound (2016).
