Chilli thrips were obtained from wild populations originated
from rose plants in Winter Park, FL. The colony was maintained
and reared on cotton plants, Deltapine (493 Conventional) in square
cages (60 cm dimensions) under greenhouse conditions. Health of
the colony was maintained by periodically introgression of wild
chilli thrips from naturally infested plants. Predatory mites, A. swirskii,
and insidious flower bug, O. insidiosus, were purchased from
Koppert Biological Systems (Berkel en Rodenrijs, The Netherlands).