Body strongly bicoloured, brown on head, mesonotum, metanotum, abdominal tergites II–IV laterally, and tergites VII–IX; fore wing with 3 dark and 3 pale bands, apex pale, clavus dark with pale setae; antennal segments I–II light brown, III and base of IV pale; hind tibiae yellow with light shading medially. Head with occipital apodeme close to but not confluent with posterior margin of eyes, ocellar area irregularly reticulate; antennal segments III & IV constricted to short apical neck. Pronotum transversely reticulate without internal markings, pronotal blotch well-defined and transversely striate. Mesonotum and anterior part of metanotum striate; metasternal plate with shallow anterior emargination. Fore wing second vein with 1 or 2 setae. Abdominal tergites VII–VIII with complete comb of long microtrichia on posterior margin, VI with comb shorter than diameter of campaniform sensilla, no comb on remaining tergites; tergite IX with 2 pairs of mid-dorsal setae. Both sexes fully winged.
Male similar to female, but smaller and with tergite VII pale.
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. This group is closely related to Hydatothrips, but anterior margin of metasternum is transverse or with weak emagination. Neohydatothrips daedalus is a boldly coloured species, with the pronotal sculpture reticulate rather than transversely reticulate to striate as in the related species N. fasciatus. A key to the Neotropical species of Neohydatothrips is provided by Lima & Mound (2016).
