5/17/2022: A chilly morning in the office

Upon entering the office to do desk work today I realized I had left the window open overnight. Temps outside swung into the 50s last night, and even with the insulation of the surrounding walls the office temperature dropped from the mid 80s during the day down to 60s. Many of my rare, treasured, sensitive, or just-started roach species are kept in the office, and some may have panicked at the temperature flux, but I’m unmoved.

We think of the tropics (where many of our most beloved roaches come from) as steamy jungles constantly in the 80s or 90s, but the fact is that in most tropical places there are daily temperature fluctuations. These fluctuations are often so great that the average temperature difference over a 24 hour period in many tropical places is much greater than the average temperature differences over the course of a year. Most roaches are well-adapted to these fluctuations and there is anecdotal evidence a day-night temperature difference may increase growth and maximum adult size.

The cold won’t last for long and after the lights kick on the temperature will begin to creep to almost insufferable before long.

-Kyle