After a 17-year wait, cicadas emerge a little early in Chicago area: ‘It’s a milestone’

 

After a 17-year wait, cicadas emerge a little early in the Chicago area: ‘It’s a milestone’

The large insects, last seen in the area 17 years ago, have resurfaced in droves across various pockets of the city and suburbs. On certain streets on the Far Southwest Side Saturday, cicadas covered the sidewalks and blanketed the trees.

“It’s pretty exciting. It’s natural systems at their finest,” said Stephanie Adams, the plant healthcare leader at the Morton Arboretum. “You can just really appreciate them.”

Staff at the arboretum in Lisle first noticed cicadas on Monday. By Friday, certain areas were crawling with them. Warmer weather caused the insects to appear about a week earlier than expected, according to Adams. Even slight variations in soil temperature can affect the timing of their emergence.

“I would say in people’s neighborhoods, if they have a known host tree in a particularly sunny area, you’re going to see emergence earlier,” Adams said.

This year marks a rare double emergence, with the 17-year and 13-year cicada cycles aligning for the first time in 221 years. The last overlap of Brood XIX, four species that appear every 13 years in the Southeast, and Brood XIII, three species that appear every 17 years in northern Illinois, was in 1803.

Brood XIX won’t emerge in Chicago but will be visible in central and southern Illinois. Periodical cicadas exist in only two other countries — Fiji and India.

Nature lovers Luke Van Schaik and Yvonne Rae, fascinated by insects, drove six hours from Ontario, Canada, to Illinois with their children this weekend. Saturday morning, their 8-year-old and 3-year-old played on a sidewalk in Beverly, watching cicadas crawl up their arms.

“We thought we’d take the kids to get some deep-dish pizza, see the sights in Chicago, and then see how many cicadas we could catch,” Van Schaik said with a laugh.

Though females can damage young trees as they lay eggs, cicadas are harmless to humans. In fact, the insects are even edible.

Beverly resident Keith Lewis, a self-proclaimed bug enthusiast, was thrilled when he first spotted cicadas in his yard Friday. His walkway on South Bell Avenue in Beverly was littered with tan shells. For Lewis, the insects mark the passage of time, bringing a sense of nostalgia.

“I’ve been waiting for them,” Lewis said. “The last time the cicadas emerged, my son was 4. Now he’s 21. It’s a milestone for me, it really is.”

After spotting the insects, Lewis has been posting photos on the Cicada Safari app, a platform launched by researchers to track the historic double emergence. He even made cicada T-shirts to celebrate their arrival.

“I’m just so excited,” Lewis said. “I’m trying to enjoy it.”

Periodical cicadas have a life cycle of about four weeks and are likely to remain visible through June. Most neighbors say they’ve yet to hear the insects’ signature singing, which usually begins a few days after a mass emergence.

It’s one of Karolyn Kuehner’s favorite things about cicadas. The Morgan Park musician finds comfort in their chirping and trilling.

“I enjoy the sound,” Kuehner said. “I was hoping we’d get both broods because you have different songs. One sings higher than another. I think it’s beautiful.”

As Kuehner mowed her front lawn Saturday morning, her young crabapple trees were wrapped in delicate, protective netting. She first covered the saplings 10 days ago. Meanwhile, her oak tree was teeming with cicadas. Not that she minds.

“It’s just sort of part of the cycle of nature,” Kuehner said. “I think when we can have that in the city, especially, that’s particularly lovely.”

Further north, Northbrook resident Linda Vering dodged cicadas in her driveway. They first appeared earlier this week and are already beginning to fly.

“We’re trying to be careful not to step on the newly emerged ones, but it’s kind of tricky,” Vering said. “And I’ve had a cicada flying in my hair before, which is really unpleasant.”

She reflected on how the Chicago area has experienced one natural phenomenon after another this year.

“It’s like a second eclipse,” Vering said with a laugh. “We’ve had the eclipse, the northern lights, and now the cicadas.”