October 5, 2020
Turns out, they're looking a tad bit worse now than they did in the last update. I discovered, too late, that workers had been escaping from a tiny hole in the lid of their setup. Without all the escapees I estimate there would be around 30 workers by now, but there are only 17. The brood pile is small, probably because I halfway forgot about this colony... But, I have discovered that they really love baby red runner roaches and they accept them and enjoy them a lot more than any other protein item I've tried for them.
In the next few days I will begin to introduce them to temperatures of around 63 degrees F (17C), with a new wine cooler I got this year. I will introduce them to those temperatures slowly, putting them in and taking them out of the cooler every few days. I'll do this to signal to them that winter is coming, so that the queens stop laying eggs. The goal is to simulate the first few cold snaps that happen here in northwest Florida, prior to full-blown winter. Wine coolers are awesome for this because you can control the temperature down to the degree, and adjust it over time. I think when all current brood matures into workers I will put them in the cooler for good and not take them out until late February. It seems like Colobopsis impressa undergoes a broodless diapause, unlike many Camponotus which go through diapause with a batch of larvae.