Female macropterous or micropterous; body color brown, darker on abdomen, apex of tube paler; fore legs yellow with shaded margins, mid and hind femora yellowish with external margin brown, mid and hind tibiae brown; antennomeres I–III yellow to light brown, IV yellow basally and brown apically, V–VIII dark brown; wings brownish, with base darker. Antennae 8-segmented, antennomere III with 2 and IV with 4 sense cones. Head about as long as wide, not projected in front of eyes; maxillary stylets wide apart, V-shaped. Pronotum with 5 pairs of well-developed setae. Metanotum reticulated, with a pair of median setae. Metathoracic sternopleural sutures present. Pelta hat-shaped, anterior margin rounded and basal wings present; abdominal tergites II–VII with 1 pair of elongated and curved or sigmoid wing-retaining setae. Tube nearly cylinder-shaped, about 1,6x as long as basal width, without lateral setae. Fore tarsi without a tooth. Fore wings with 7 duplicated cilia.
Male macropterous or micropterous. Similar to female but with a tarsal tooth present. Pore plates absent.
Intraspecific variation
Males have distinct forms, with some minor specimens, similar to females; and some major specimens, lighter-colored, with swollen forelegs, thick tarsal tooth and a trapezoidal pronotum.
Genus and similar species information
Nesothrips is a genus with a little over 30 species, mostly from Asia and Oceania, but with a few species widely distributed across the world. It seems to be more closely related to some other genera of Idolothripinae with relatively short head and tube, such as Acallurothrips, Gastrothrips and Neosmerinthothrips. Nesothrips minor is distinguished from the Brazilian species of Acallurothrips and Neosmerinthothrips for lacking a thickened and strongly tapering tube; and from Gastrothrips species for having 4 sense cones on antennomere IV.
Distribution around the world.
Described from Rodrigues Island (Mauritius). Recorded from several countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Australia, Brazil, Fiji, Hawaii (United States) and India.
