Body mainly yellow with ocellar area, anterior third of mesonotum and lateral thirds of metanotum shaded brown, and antecostal ridges on abdominal tergites II–VII brown; antennal segments I–III yellow, IV brown with basal fourth yellow and apex light brown, V brown with base light brown, VI–VIII brown; fore wing uniformly pale brownish grey. Head with occipital apodeme not confluent with posterior margin of compound eyes; ocellar area with irregularly reticulate transverse striae, setal pair III outside the ocellar triangle; pronotum closely striate with anterior margin of pronotal blotch distinct; mesonotum striate, two pairs of setae almost in transverse straight line; 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 two setae. Abdominal tergites II–VI with comb of microtrichia incomplete medially, comb complete on VII–VIII; tergite IX with 2 pairs of mid-dorsal setae; sternites III–VII with microtrichia medially.
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 goianus is similar to N. flavens but has unusual sculpture lines in the ocellar triangle. A key to the Neotropical species of Neohydatothrips is provided by Lima & Mound (2016).
