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April 18, 2020

Brood XIII (13) cicadas (“locusts”) will emerge in 2024 in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Indiana

Filed under: Brood XIII | Magicicada | Periodical — Dan @ 1:02 am

Periodical cicada Brood XIII (13) will emerge in the spring of 2024 in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and possibly Michigan. The last time this brood emerged was in 2007.

Special note: Brood XIX (19) will also emerge in 2024. While the two broods do not overlap, they come closest in the Springfield, Illinois area.

What, when, where, and why:

What:

Millions of these:
Adult, Nymph, Molting Cicada

Videos from 2009:

When: Typically beginning in mid-May and ending in late June. These cicadas will begin to emerge approximately when the soil 8 inches beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence.

Other tips: these cicadas will emerge after the trees have grown leaves, and, by my own observation, around the same time Iris flowers bloom.

Where:

Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org) has the most up-to-date maps.

  • Illinois places: Belvidere, Brookfield, Channahon, Chicago, Des Plaines River Trail, Downers Grove, Egermann Woods County Forest Preserve, Elmhurst, Flossmoor, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Homewood, La Grange, Lagrange Woods, Lake Forest, Lansing, Lincolnshire, Lisle, Lombard, MacArthur Woods Forest Preserve, Marseilles, McHenry, McKinley Woods, Morton Arboretum, Naperville, Northbrook, Ogden, Ottawa, Palos Heights, River Forest, River Grove, Romeoville, Ryerson Woods, Schiller Park, Thornton, Vernon Hills, Villa Park, Weaton, Western Springs, Westmont, Wonder Lake, and more.
  • Illinois counties: Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Cook, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Kankakee, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McHenry, McLean, Menard, Peoria, Putnam, Sangamon, Stark, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago, Woodford.
  • Iowa places: Atalissa, Solon, and more.
  • Iowa counties: Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Cedar, Dubuque, Henry, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott, Tama.
  • Wisconsin locations: Aurora University, Big Foot Beach State Park, Lake Geneva, Moraine Nature Preserve, and more.
  • Wisconsin counties: Crawford, Grant, Green. Rock, Walworth.
  • Indiana locations: Crown Point, Portage, Purdue-North Central, Valparaiso, and more.
  • Indiana counties: LaPorte, Porter, Lake.
  • Michigan: According to Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org), Magicicada have been found along the border of Michigan and Indiana.

More Location Tips:

Local Events

Lake County Forest Preserve in Illinois: 1) A cicada exhibit opening at the Dunn Museum in Libertyville, IL on April 27th. 2) Cicadas of Lake County on 5/2. 3) Celebrating Cicadas on 5/16. 4) On Sunday, June 9th, they plan to hold CicadaFest at Ryerson Woods. Insects, and of course, cicadas will be featured.

Why: Why do they stay underground for 17-years? The prevailing research suggests they have evolved a long lifecycle allowing them to avoid predators that would sync up with their lifecycle & emergence. Why are there so many?! Research suggests that their huge numbers allow them to overwhelm predators, so enough of them will live on to breed and perpetuate the brood.

More facts and fun:

1907 Map from Marlatt, C.L.. 1907. The periodical cicada. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology.

See a modern map, or the Live Map from the Cicada Safari app.
Marlatt 1907 13 Brood XIII

What was the emergence in 2007 like?

31 Comments »

  1. Dan says:

    Some Brood XIII “stragglers” emerged early in 2020. If you see a cicada and want to report it, the Cicada Safari App is available for Android and Apple devices 📱.

    A particularly large amount of Brood XIII cicadas are emerging early this year. Here’s a news article and a note from the Illinois Extension. Thanks Neil for the links.

    One thing that is important to determine is whether any of the off-schedule populations (especially the 4-year early and 4-year late ones) are large enough to persist and lay eggs. The big question is will they establish a new population? Please send photos of cicadas laying eggs. And if egg laying is extensive enough to damage branches, please send photos of that as well!

    Some Brood XIII cicadas are emerging 4 years early, particularly in the Chicago area in 2020. Blue in the map below:

    May 30 map - Now with Brood V

  2. Dan says:

    Thanks to Marc Mengel for the tip on the emergence at Egermann Woods in Lisle, IL.

  3. Gregory Sekela says:

    I just had two cicadas dropout of my tomato plants both alive, – August 2,2020 in Oconto County, Wisconsin.
    45 degrees, 7 minutes, 61 seconds North by 88.31 West. I have photos.

  4. Natalie says:

    I’m in Nashville and we are just seeing and hearing them this week! Everyone on Cicada Safari said they were done but it’s just starting here. I have some trees in my yard with dozens of shells still attached.

  5. Cindy Myer says:

    Heard Cicadas for the first time last night and they were loud. I love listening to them. I also saw what I thought was a young cicada climbing on one of our trees it was shiny black, looked wet and I think it had very small wings hard to tell but I did take a photo.

  6. Diane Broucek says:

    We had tons of them yesterday, Thursday, June 11, 2020 in Glendale Heights, southern part. Very noisy & flying everywhere! It was so cool. But today now they just disappeared. Very weird. But I was thinking maybe the weather change approaching maybe affected them? Not sure.

    1. Dan says:

      @Diane, bad weather can certainly effect them. Rain, wind, and cool weather (sub 70) will keep them from being active. A flock of birds, like starlings, might have taken them out as well.

  7. E H says:

    I live in Oak Park. Started hearing them today. Getting loud. Drove to Broadview west on Cermak. Heard them in cemeteries along Des Plaines river and also hear them now in trees behind stores in Broadview Village Square at Cermak and 17th Ave.

  8. Margaret McConnell says:

    They are all over Lisle. Hundreds if not thousands of them in my neighborhood.

    1. Danielle Wilson says:

      I’ve seen tons in Lisle especially in the four lakes area

  9. Neil L. says:

    Started seeing/hearing them a week ago here in the near north ‘burbs (Glenview, Morton Grove etc)…and along the way out to ORD. Hearing a fair number of them in the trees and seeing them emerging each night. The other morning, a neighbor’s tree was covered with them.

  10. YoZe says:

    Suddenly within the last week, there has been a huge surge in Orland Park, IL. As someone who is deathly afraid of insects, especially these, I am not ok, but I admit they are fascinating. It is sad though to think that my June is lost.

    1. Linda says:

      My backyard and now front yard is covered with them. I also live in Orland Park. I have small kids who are stuck inside the house because of the pandemic and now these insects. My three year old is terrified and has refused to play outdoors.

  11. Judy says:

    chorusing cicadas in Palos Heights. some small dead branches.

  12. M.M. says:

    We are fortunate to have lots that have come up over the last few days in Riverside, IL. They are so incredibly cute. Really beautiful vermillion colored eyes. Yay! Welcome little ones!

  13. Linda says:

    I thought I prompted their emergence when I dug up a dead lilac tree. They are now all over my back yard in Lake Geneva, Wi.

  14. Rich says:

    Lots out in Glendale Heights, IL.

    Question: Are these truly stragglers (4 yrs early) from the 2024 emergence (eggs laid in 2007) or does anyone remember stragglers in 2003 that these would be from?

    Something to ponder: Would the offspring from these that would emerge in 2037 (17 yrs from now) still be called stragglers from the main emergence in 2041 (17 yrs from 2024) or would they then be a separate sub brood of Brood XIII???

    1. Dan says:

      @Rich, they are. Unless you’ve got a small “spurious brood” that originated from Brood XIII not from 2007, but in generations past. If they procreate, some or all could emerge in 13 years, 17 years or even 21 years (which we’re seeing this year in Ohio for Brood V).

  15. Pam says:

    We live in Palos Park, IL and I just noticed them this week. Haven’t seen a lot of live ones and they are not making any noise at all??? There are a lot of their shedded skins stuck to brick all around my house though.

  16. judy says:

    i can see at least 100 in my back yard today. they appeared a few days ago. There were only a few in the beginning and now an explosion of them all over my trees, brick and patio. My golden retriever thinks they are food and she is gorging on them.

  17. Katie says:

    We’ve got a hunch in Hickory Hills!

  18. Sandy says:

    I’ve seen them today. Not too many and not too loud. I live in Franklin Park.

  19. Sam Mazzocco says:

    They’re 1000’s of them currently in Downers Grove, IL. All over tree trunks, grasses, plants and such .

  20. Larry Wierzbicki says:

    Found plenty of husks today (6/3/2020) on the ground and around trees on my property in Bolingbrook. The dog enjoys eating the adults in the grass.

  21. SUSAN BURK says:

    They are in riverside. Jist took a walk and saw a few.

    1. SUSAN BURK says:

      That’s Riverside Il.

  22. Sb1818 says:

    I’m seeing them all in willow springs, IL, too. Which is a southwest suburb of Chicago. I remember when they came last time… traumatizing for us city folk!!! I’m 26 and terrified LOL it’s going to be a pale summer for me, because mamas staying indoors!!! I pray it isn’t like that one summer 😩

  23. Late Sleeper says:

    They’re coming up tonight in Beverly, on the south side of Chicago. They have red eyes – they’re our little friends, but four years early! So far the emergence doesn’t seem as overwhelming as the normal 17-year ones have been. If this is a split of Brood 13, then I assume they won’t be as outrageously loud as normal. We’ll know in a week.

    1. Jeff says:

      They are all over the place in Darien! Love them since I was a kid

  24. P.B. says:

    This past weekend (5/31/20), we’ve seen the small nymphs on the sidewalks and on all the trees. We also see the emerged adults everywhere in LaGrange, IL.

  25. Curtis Willmore says:

    I’ve noticed several of the small nymph husks recently, and today (29may2020) I found several emerged adults in my yard. I live in Elmhurst IL, which is known to have a population on this time cycle.

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