Looking forward to seeing Gene Kritsky speak tomorrow at the Lake County Forest Preserve.

News

Cicadas nature’s current hot ticket, by Courtney Flynn and John Biemer in the June 1st issue of the Chicago Tribune.

Don’t forget to contribute to the LCFP cicada map.

“It looked like the grass was boiling”.

Blogs (some with pictures)

Cicada Mania (pics).

Day 10 of the cicada invasion (updated with pictures) .

First, Catch Your Cicada .

Photo of the day

Photo by Joe Balynas.

Today I leave for Chicago! Saturday and Sunday I’ll be around the Lake County Forest Preserve Cicada Mania events. Saturday is Gene Kritsky, and Sunday is the Cicada Mania festival. Hopefully there will be time to drive up to Wisconsin because I’ve never been there. Monday, I’ll probably head down to the Brookfield Zoo, and watch the animals eat cicadas.

If you see me (I look like Lenny Clark) say hello.

Some new emergence locations: Prophetstown, IL, Wicker Park in Chicago, just east of Portage, IN, Moraine Nature Preserve, New Lenox, IL… BTW, Lake Geneva, Wi seems like a hot spot for Wisconsin.

Photos:

A massive brood XIII photoset on Flickr. The Cicada photos keep pouring in to Flickr — check them out.

Ms Frack has posted another great series of photos on her blog.

Molly’s fantastic cicada photos.

Music:

It’s the King Of Cicada. Listen and download.

News and Blogs

Another seagull story.

Tips to protect small trees.

Video of “red hot cicadas”.

Video of teachers eating cicadas for charity.

Bug mania makes great convergence coverage. Nice photo!

Why is Curmudgeon driving us buggy? More cicada stuff….. Nice pictures.

Cicada Outbreaks Linked to Other Animals’ Booms, Busts. I contributed a quote to this one.

There’s been some Wisconsin reports: Lake Geneva, WI and Iowa County. Will Iowa state be next?

Photos

There are hundreds of cicada photos on flickr. Here’s some favorites:

A pile of exuvia.

A large pile at the foot of a tree.

Dozens climbing up a tree limb.

Close up of an adult.

Pale orange eyes.

Upside down.

Suprised. This one is very cute.

If you notice I didn’t make a Michigan t-shirt. Here’s why: no periodical cicadas in Michigan this year

Don’t worry too much — Michigan will get the plain old, sly, elusive, camo-colored Tibicens in the summer time.

BTW, we did get our first Wisconsin report this weekend. I’m happy about that.

New Emergence Locations: River Forest, Oak Park, Lenox (all Illinois)

Anyone in Wisconsin or Iowa see a cicada yet?

Photos:

A mosaic of cicada photos.

Oh no! A monkey eating a cicada.

And squirrels eating cicadas!

More Flickr photo sets:

ninjono’s cicada photos.

Elmhurst Bags’ cicada photos.

baywatchbanks’ cicada photos.

mawlor410′s cicada photos.

srfagan’s cicada photos. Nice photos of piles of cicada skins at the base of a tree.

Blogs:

Garden Goddess has posted a series of articles about cicadas.

Stay tuned to Ms Frack’s Myspace Blog. She’s posted plenty of awesome cicada photos!

Video:

Oak Park residents celebrate the arrival of cicadas with a tasting party (ABC 7).

See Spot cough up cicadas. Also read my article: Are cicadas safe to eat?. Watch out if you’re prone to gout.

Fact: Magicicadas can have blue and white eyes!

They’re very rare, but some Magicicadas can have blue or white eyes. Take a picture if you find one! Besides red, orange, white and blue, you might also find a magicicada with cream, yellow or tan eyes.

Fact: There is a wasp called the Cicada Killer Wasp

Can you guess why the Cicada Killer Wasp is called a cicada killer? They’re big wasps, but they’d rather sting a cicada than you. Read more about the Cicada Killer Wasp.

Fact: Cicadas don’t eat like people do, they drink tree fluids instead

Whether they’re in the ground on a root, or on a tree limb, cicadas drink tree fluids called xylem sap to stay nourished. They drink they fluid using their beak, also called a rostrum — it looks like a straw!

Fact: Magicicadas won’t appear everywhere

Even though the maps at the top of the page might suggest there are Magicicadas in your area, you might not find them on your property.

Here’s some reasons why:

• You live in a new development, and the cicadas were killed when your neighborhood was built.
• Too many pesticides.
• There’s no large deciduous trees (like maples and oaks) in your neighborhood.
• There simply aren’t any.

If none turn up in your yard, don’t give up hope:

• Check local parks and forest preserves.
• Ask some friends and family if they’ve seen some. Cicada networking!
• Check your local news papers.

They’re out there, you just might have to travel a bit to see them.

Location update:

Illinois: Westmont, Elmhurst, East Peoria, Metamora, Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, Villa Park, Hinsdale, Orland Park…

Indiana: Crown Point…

Photos:

“Cicada Love”!

Photos by the Tolman’s in the Chicago area.

Photos by Gregory H in NW Indiana.

Photos by Daniel D in Crown Point, Indiana.

Video:

Video of the emergence (ABC).

Cicada Mania Hits Chicago (NBC 5).

Music:

James Engel of morning show on q101 in Chicago has recorded a song about the emergence called “Hey There Cicada”. Tune into q101 to hear it.

Blog posts:

Today is the day that the cicadas come to play…. Interesting photo at the beginning of the post.

Brood XIII: Billions of Cicadas Party in Midwest. Video too.

News:

Cicadas Expected to Arrive in Time for Dillo Day Weekend Festivities. BTW, there’s an error in the news article. Gene Kritsky doesn’t run cicadamania.com, I do.

‘Couple billion’ cicadas due this month. Includes a photo.

Cicadas’ lives are short, but memories of them last a lifetime. True that!

They’re here: Cicadas resurface after 17-year hibernation. Technically they aren’t hibernating — they’re sucking on a root.

Cicada Eating (which is crazy if you ask me):

Cicadas as Food: Summer’s Low-Fat Snack?.