Dedicated to cicadas, the most amazing insects in the world.
So far we have Bull Valley, a possible in Lake Bluff, and Highland Park…
If you see cicadas don’t forget to take photos. Put them up on Flickr, the free photo sharing service, and use the broodxiii tag so others can find your Brood XIII cicadas. If you can, take a picture of a cicada with a newspaper or print out this web page and take a picture of the cicadas with that (for date reference).
Don’t forget to take video too, and put that video up on YouTube!
Earlier than expected, here’s some pictures of emerging cicadas in Highland Park, IL.
May 22nd is the date they were predicted to emerge, but thanks to warm weather and other factors…
Somebody asked for a picture of a cicada they can color with Crayons. Here you go: Magicicada Coloring Sheet PDF. You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it on Windows, and Macs will display it without an extra plug-in.
Here’s what it looks like when you print it out:
According to the cicada emergence formula, it looks like May 22nd might be the date.
As you may have heard, cicadas can damage small trees (like wimpy ornamentals) as they lay their eggs in the branches. The Chicago Sun-Times has a good article titled Arbor Day takes cover against cicada swarm, that will give folks with wimpy trees strategies for dealing with the upcoming emergence. If you’re concerned, read the article.
Tips:
Big, strong trees will see some damage, but they take it in stride:
If you’re looking for historical information about previous brood emergences try Cicada Central’s Magicicada Database. Click on the link that reads Magicicada Database and then follow the instructions (hint: search for the 13 (XIII) brood and the year 1990).
Spectrum Technologies is monitoring the soil temperature in Plainfield and Naperville Illinois.
In northern Illinois and surrounding areas, three species of Magicicada emerge from the soil every 17 years for a brief above-ground visit. Brood XIII will emerge when soil temperature reaches approximately 65° F. Spectrum data loggers are busy tracking soil temperature near Spectrum headquarters in northern Illinois to estimate when to expect their arrival.
Rene reported ]that she saw Magicicada nymphs in holes in a friend’s garden in SE Elmhurst Illinois.
We’re currently expecting the emergence to start on May 24th, but the hot weekend might have roused the cicadas to an early start. We’ll see.
The Return of the Cicadas 17-Year cicada documentary will be airing on PBS in the Brood XIII emergence area soon. As soon as next Thursday, 4/26. Set your Tivo/DVR to record it!
Periodical cicadas are among the most unique creatures in the animal kingdom. After spending 17 years underground as juveniles, they emerge for a brief, cacophonous population explosion aboveground, where they transform into adults, mate, lay eggs and die off after only a few weeks.
WFYI presents Return of the Cicadas, an original local documentary produced in association with the Indiana University Research and Teaching Preserve. Producer Samuel Orr followed the life cycle of Brood X, which made its momentous ascension in the spring of 2004. It accounted for one of the largest insect outbreaks on Earth. Many different broods exist, on unique 17-year schedules. Brood XIII is due to arrive in northern Indiana this May.
Through stunning close-up video and time-lapse photography, Orr and others offer an amazing glimpse at the lives of these enigmatic insects. The documentary was made possible by the research of IU biologist Keith Clay through grants provided by the National Science Foundation. The NSF and Science Magazine recognized the production with a national award for a short 5-minute film on the Brood X outbreak.
insects from the forests of Chiang Mai is an excellent website featuring many photos and audio recordings of cicadas from Thailand. If you want to explore cicadas around the world, it’s a great place to start.
