Body bicoloured, head light brown, pronotum brownish yellow with posteroangular setae dark brown, mesonotum and metanotum brown; abdominal tergites II–VIII with antecostal ridge dark brown, II–VI light brown, VII–IX [MFL1] brown, X light brown; fore wing brown with pale sub-basal band, clavus shaded in basal half; antennal segment I pale, II weakly shaded, III brown near base but pale medially, IV brown with yellow base; hind tibiae yellow, femora shaded with light brown. Head with occipital apodeme not confluent with eyes, ocellar area striate with markings between the striae; antennal segments III & IV without a strongly constricted apical neck. Pronotum transversely striate with no internal markings, striae of pronotal blotch more closely spaced than those of anterior area; mesonotum and metanotum closely striate; metasternal plate with shallow emargination. Fore wing second vein with one or two setae distally. Abdominal tergites VII–VIII with complete comb of microtrichia on posterior margin, but short medially on VII, no comb medially on remaining tergites; tergite IX with 2 pairs of mid-dorsal setae; sternites III–VI with microtrichia medially, VII with few microtrichia medially.
Male similar to female, but smaller.
Intraspecific variation
Abdominal tergites V and VI are variable in the intensity of the brown colouring.
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 sidae is less strongly bicoloured than most members of this genus, with the pronotal blotch yellow, but the extent of the light brown colour on the abdomen is variable. A key to the Neotropical species of Neohydatothrips is provided by Lima & Mound (2016).
