Cicada overload coming to Central Illinois this summer

Will Simmons
·1 min read

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Cicadas will be making a return to Central Illinois soon — and this year, people might notice a lot more of them.

A brood of cicadas that pop up every 13 years are set to crawl out of the ground in about a month. This is on top of the regular dog-day cicadas we see every summer. They will arrive around the Fourth of July.

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Katie Dana, a University of Illinois entomologist, said she’s excited to see the insects providing the sounds of summer.

“Most of them have their own song. So, you know, it’s the same with our dog-days. We have more species than you realize in town,” she said. “And if you listen, it’s like our dog-days. Each species has a unique call that you can listen to. It’s really fascinating.”

Another 17-year-old brood will be crawling around our area. Although, they are expected to be more concentrated towards the north. Dana said estimates of their biomass will reach 1.5 million cicadas per acre.

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