Were large numbers of cicadas flying around in your plans for 2024? Whether they were or not — swarms of the big-eyed bugs will impact the Midwest in the spring, experts say.
Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report.
Were large numbers of cicadas flying around in your plans for 2024? Whether they were or not — swarms of the big-eyed bugs will impact the Midwest in the spring, experts say.
The periodical cicada brood, known as Brood XIII, is set to emerge across parts of northern Illinois and Indiana in late May 2024, Dr. Gene Kristy, dean of Behavioral and Natural Sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati said in a 2023 press release.
According to an article from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne Extension, the Northern Illinois Brood's emergence typically occurs in May and June, and lasts approximately four weeks. Although mostly harmless, the noise of the insects can be disruptive, the university said. Additionally, eggs from adult cicadas on twigs and shoots could cause "substantial damage" in newly planted orchards.
And the Northern Illinois Brood itself is huge, with a reputation for the "largest emergency of cicadas anywhere," according to the university.
Other broods expected in the late spring and early summer of 2024 include the Great Southern Brood known as "Brood XXIX," which are often found in the southern half of the state across central, western and eastern Illinois, the University of Illinois said.
In 2028, the Mississippi Valley Brood known as "Brood XXIII" are expected to emerge in Southwestern and Southeastern Illinois, though some "stragglers" from that bunch could also appear in 2024, the university reported.
"Most of the state of Illinois will experience periodical cicada emergence in 2024," the article said. "Besides the noise, which may be substantial, this large group of insects is harmless and can be appreciated and enjoyed by nature lovers of all ages."
Male cicadas can reach decibels similar to a lawn mower or passing jet, and their numbers will be large, but their life cycle is short, at just four to six weeks. Then, the adults die but leave behind a new generation. Those nymphs will live underground until the year 2038.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
In a year of full emergence, when the bugs surface, they quickly begin mating, which is often met with the noise most associate with cicadas.
“Once those cicadas are out of the ground, it’s all about romance,” Mike Raupp, Professor Emeritus of Entomology at the University of Maryland, previously said.
In 1956, entomologists reported as many as 311 "emergence holes" per square yard in a forested floodplain near Chicago, which experts say translated to 1.5 million cicadas per acre, according to the University of Illinois.
"When the cicadas start dying and dropping from the trees later in the spring, there are large numbers on the ground, and the odor from their rotting bodies is noticeable," U of I reports. "In 1990, there were reports from people in Chicago having to use snow shovels to clear their sidewalks of the dead cicadas."
Cicadas don’t bite or sting and pesticides will not work on periodical cicadas, experts say.
Brood XIX cicadas, meanwhile, are slated to emerge in the St. Louis area, as well as parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Some of those may have appeared early, as well.
