Mixing beans should be done before adding fresh beans. Remove the most recently added beans (1-2 days in the cages) from all colony cages and place in clean container with lid. Any beans with fungal growth should be left in the cages.
None
10-15 minutes
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| Thrips from all colony cages are mixed periodically (once every 1-2 months) to prevent inbreeding among the relatively small number of insects in an individual cage. Excessive inbreeding will reduce the fitness of the colony. Mixing can be done either by combining and redistributing the beans or redistributing the fresh flowers to new cages. | |
Mixing beans should be done before adding fresh beans. Remove the most recently added beans (1-2 days in the cages) from all colony cages and place in clean container with lid. Any beans with fungal growth should be left in the cages. |
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| Gently mix beans in clean container. | |
| Redistribute beans and insects among the colony cages. | |
| OR Move each jar of flowers to a new cage, being careful not to disturb thrips while moving the jars between cages. Jars may need to be redistributed on multiple days to mix thrips from several cages adequately. |