Chicago Woman Finds Super Rare Blue Eyed Cicada Called 'One in a Million'

Eve Vawter
·2 min read
9

A woman named Kelly Simkins was walking around a nature preserve outside of Chicago looking for insects to feed her reptiles including a Ball Python, Geckos and a Boa Constrictor.

One of the insects she came across was a super rare blue-eyed cicada that is called one in a million.

NBC Chicago reports, "Experts said blue-eyed cicadas have been seen before, but such sightings are rare.

"One in a million," said Dr. Gene Kritsky, dean of Behavioral and Natural Sciences at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati.

Kritsky, who designed an app that tracks cicadas in the U.S. called Cicada Safari, said the image from Orland Park is one of only two he has seen so far this year out of 40,000 reports. In previous emergences, he said he's seen two or three such cicada images come through out of 500,000 submissions."

The  blue-eyed cicada in the Orland Grassland forest preserve in Cook County.

As much as these insects totally bug me (See what I did there?) I can see where finding one with blue eyes must have been pretty incredible. I'm sure this is one cicada that Simkins won't be feeding her reptiles!

Related: Truth About Dog Safety Around Cicadas Is a Disgusting Relief

If you'd like to learn more about why there are suddenly cicadas in a lot of the United States, read on.

All About This Year's Unprecedented Cicada Event

There are two groups of periodical cicadas — those that emerge every 13 years and those that emerge every 17 years. This year we luck out because both broods will emerge at the same time.

These insects don't come out until the ground temperatures reach 64 degrees, so they will show up earlier in states where it's warmer first. This double-brood event hasn't happened in over 200 years, and the two broods will emerge in a combined 17 states across Southeastern and Midwestern states, with an overlap in Illinois and Iowa. Most of us can expect about six weeks or so of cicadas this year.

Even though some of us aren't the biggest fans of these insects, USA Today reminds us that they do serve a purpose, they provide a valuable food source for birds or other predators, can aerate lawns, improve water filtration and add nutrients into the soil as they decompose.

Happy Cicadapocalypse everyone!

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