Cicadas are amazing insects and the more you know about them, the more you will agree with us on that. There are MANY different broods. Sometimes their wake time overlaps and there are a ton of them all of a sudden. And they start making lots and lots of noise. But what may sound like noise to us is actually them singing to find a mate. We call it a love song. You can hear it here.
It may not sound like any love song you’ve heard before, but to other cicadas, it’s the sweet sound of hearts and flowers. The cicadas will live for just three or four weeks aboveground – just long enough to mate and, in the case of female cicadas, deposit eggs. It’s tragic, really. A tragic love story! It’s Cicada and Juliet. It’s An Officer and a Cicada. It’s A Cicada is Born. Maybe that’s overstating it a bit, but maybe it’s not. It depends on if you ask a cicada or not.
THE SOUND OF CICADAS
Whether you think it’s sadly beautiful or not, you probably want to know what it means to you. Well, let’s hash this out. Cicadas are loud as they sing their mating songs, but at some point, the cicada sound will act like a fan spinning or a white noise machine. It could actually help you sleep. In a few months after the cicadas disappear, you’ll have to get used to the quiet again. Or just the frogs. Or the crickets. Or the police sirens. Depends on where you live.
THE FACTS ABOUT CICADAS
Cicadas themselves are large. Some may find them intimidating but you needn’t worry about these gentle giants. They don’t sting. They don’t bite. They don’t carry or transmit any diseases. They won’t even damage your garden! If they do get inside your home, it was certainly by accident. They feed on the sap of trees and your house doesn’t have any. The best thing you can do is to help shoo them out an open door or window. And since there could be quite a lot of them at certain times, make sure you don’t leave doors or windows without screens open, so they don’t inadvertently fly in. They aren’t strong flyers so you could see them bump into things – and people. They aren’t being aggressive. Give them a break, man. They just got their wings! It’s a learning curve. They will also leave behind large cicada shells when they hatch. You may step on a few, but it’s ok. It’s just a shell.
THE MYTHS ABOUT CICADAS
People often call them locusts, which knowing the reputation of this bug associated with the Biblical plague, is really an unfair comparison. They are actually a completely different species than the locust. Many also classify the emergence of cicadas as an invasion. It’s not. It’s more like a miracle! They are not an invasive species and are truly indigenous to our area – even if you don’t see them for years at a time. And they aren’t hibernating or dormant while they are in between emergence years. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t moving through the soil, feeding and helping the earth become more nutrient-rich.
THE CICADAS IN OUR AREA
The 2024 emergence of 17-year periodical cicadas began in early to mid-May (earlier in southern Illinois and later in northern Illinois). The exact timing depended on soil temperature, which depended on the spring weather. When the right broods overlap, that can mean as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre in some areas of the country. Not only does that mean a lot of poor flyers, but it will be a lot of cicada sounds as well as lots of the shells they leave behind when they hatch. Below is a map from Entomology Today showing where the cicadas were this year. Since they feed on tree sap, a forest will be their favorite spot so if you want to see lots and lots of them, that’s where you should head.
You don’t have to love them, but we can’t and shouldn’t do anything about them. They are not a threat to people, pets, or plants. These docile insects are not a pest in the sense of the word we are all used to. They could be considered annoying, sure. Are they loud? Ummm, yes. But are they harmful? Absolutely not.
Think about it this way: If you’ve seen a few emergences, you’ve lived a pretty long life. Third time seeing them? That’s a blessing. Fourth? What’s your secret? And at the end of the day, if the noise is bothering you just remember this: they were here first. Maybe they hate your music, too.
