Illinois will be abuzz with ‘screaming’ cicadas in May and June
Love it or hate it, the biggest cicada season in over two centuries in Illinois is starting to ramp up.
In May and June, a trillion cicadas in broods XII and XIX will emerge from the ground all across the state.
While they’ll be more dense in wooded areas, you’ll see the winged creatures in urban, suburban and rural areas too.
You’ll also hear their unique song. The so-called “screaming” is the mating call for adult males.
They have an organ called a tymbal: when it stretches and snaps back, it creates sound.
“In their big abdomens they have these air cavities that amplify the sounds like the chambers of a violin,” says Lawrance.
Cicadas are relatively harmless. They don’t bite or sting. But not everyone is excited for trillions of cicadas to be flying around and singing.
Reset spoke with experts to learn more about this rare event, and the effects the insects will have on people and plants.
Allen Lawrance, living invertebrate specialist, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Stephanie Adams, plant health care leader, Morton Arboretum
The timeline for when cicadas will emerge
The cicadas are already coming up in some parts of Illinois, including at the Morton Arboretum in west suburban Lisle.
They push soil up out of their exit holes, called chimneys. “They look like big popcorn kernels of soil on the soil surface,” says Adams.
She’s a big fan of the native insects and the benefits they provide, such as aerating the soil, creating tunnels for other organisms and adding nutrients back to the soil when they die.
While that’s beneficial to the soil, they only live for a month aboveground. “By the end of June their bodies will pile up,” warns Lawrance.
Some people have even had to use snow shovels to remove them from the sidewalk, but Lawrance has a practical take: “it’s free fertilizer.”
How to protect woody plants (and yourself)
Cicadas can be more than just a nuisance for trees and shrubs, according to Adams. As females lay their eggs on branches, they dig into the bark, which can cause them to die.
You can use bird netting, tulle or other fabric with a hole smaller than ¼ of an inch in diameter to protect trees and keep female cicadas out.
If you want to avoid cicadas, keep in mind they don’t fly more than 50 meters in their lifetime, and they stay close to plants and trees.
“So, if you stick to your house, you’ll have some distance,” Lawrance advises.
And if you’re wondering, yes, cicadas are non-toxic and safe to eat. Not just for dogs but for us humans too.
“They kind of taste like shrimp if they’re cooked well,” says Lawrance.
Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons spoke with Allen Lawrance, living invertebrate specialist at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Stephanie Adams, plant health care leader at the Morton Arboretum.
You can listen to the full conversation above.
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Illinois will be abuzz with ‘screaming’ cicadas in May and June
Love it or hate it, the biggest cicada season in over two centuries in Illinois is starting to ramp up.
In May and June, a trillion cicadas in broods XII and XIX will emerge from the ground all across the state.
While they’ll be more dense in wooded areas, you’ll see the winged creatures in urban, suburban and rural areas too.
You’ll also hear their unique song. The so-called “screaming” is the mating call for adult males.
They have an organ called a tymbal: when it stretches and snaps back, it creates sound.
“In their big abdomens they have these air cavities that amplify the sounds like the chambers of a violin,” says Lawrance.
Cicadas are relatively harmless. They don’t bite or sting. But not everyone is excited for trillions of cicadas to be flying around and singing.
Reset spoke with experts to learn more about this rare event, and the effects the insects will have on people and plants.
Allen Lawrance, living invertebrate specialist, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Stephanie Adams, plant health care leader, Morton Arboretum
The timeline for when cicadas will emerge
The cicadas are already coming up in some parts of Illinois, including at the Morton Arboretum in west suburban Lisle.
They push soil up out of their exit holes, called chimneys. “They look like big popcorn kernels of soil on the soil surface,” says Adams.
She’s a big fan of the native insects and the benefits they provide, such as aerating the soil, creating tunnels for other organisms and adding nutrients back to the soil when they die.
While that’s beneficial to the soil, they only live for a month aboveground. “By the end of June their bodies will pile up,” warns Lawrance.
Some people have even had to use snow shovels to remove them from the sidewalk, but Lawrance has a practical take: “it’s free fertilizer.”
How to protect woody plants (and yourself)
Cicadas can be more than just a nuisance for trees and shrubs, according to Adams. As females lay their eggs on branches, they dig into the bark, which can cause them to die.
You can use bird netting, tulle or other fabric with a hole smaller than ¼ of an inch in diameter to protect trees and keep female cicadas out.
If you want to avoid cicadas, keep in mind they don’t fly more than 50 meters in their lifetime, and they stay close to plants and trees.
“So, if you stick to your house, you’ll have some distance,” Lawrance advises.
And if you’re wondering, yes, cicadas are non-toxic and safe to eat. Not just for dogs but for us humans too.
“They kind of taste like shrimp if they’re cooked well,” says Lawrance.
Reset host Sasha-Ann Simons spoke with Allen Lawrance, living invertebrate specialist at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and Stephanie Adams, plant health care leader at the Morton Arboretum.
You can listen to the full conversation above.