Diagnosis Body mainly yellow, with three pairs of brown spots on pronotum, metanotum light brown, abdominal tergites II–VII with antecostal ridge and anterior angles brown; femora lightly shaded with brown; antennal segment I pale, II with light brown markings, III pale basally, IV brown medially with pale apex, V–VIII brown; fore wings pale, lightly brown basally. Head with transverse lines of sculpture and an occipital apodeme near the posterior margin of eyes, but not touching them; three pairs of ocellar setae, ocellar region transversely striate; mouth cone long, reaching between fore coxae. Antennae 8-segmented, III & IV with forked sense cones and constricted into an apical neck. Pronotum transversely striate; one pair of posteroangular setae well-developed; two pairs of long setae on anterior margin. Mesothoracic endofurca with spinula. Metanotum weakly reticulate; campaniform sensilla absent; two pairs of long setae near anterior margin. Anterior margin of metasternum almost transverse. Fore wings with first row of setae essentially complete, second row without setae. Abdominal tergites I–VIII covered with microtrichia in close rows; II–VI with a pair of long median setae, close together; tergites VII–VIII with a complete comb of long microtrichia on posterior margin, medially incomplete in the other tergites. Sternites III–VII without microtrichia medially; three pairs of long posteromarginal setae. Both sexes macropterous.
Males similar to females but smaller, with oval pore plates on abdominal sternites IV–VII.
Intraspecific variation The length of sense cones on antennomere IV is variable, as well as the shape of pronotal blotches and position of discal setae on the pronotum.
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 forewings. This group is closely related to Hydatothrips, but the anterior margin of metasternum is transverse or with weak emargination. Neohydatothrips inversus is a particularly light species, with wings almost fully yellow; and the mesonotal median and lateral setae are organized in a single row. A key to the Neotropical species of Neohydatothrips is provided by Lima & Mound (2016).
Distribution around the world Described from Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago. Also recorded in Brazil, Ecuador, Panama and Puerto Rico.
