Cicada Trivia: Interesting, bizarre facts about the ear-splitting insects preparing to visit Illinois
CHICAGO — By now, you know we’re about to be visited by billions of cicadas, including downstate Illinois where, for the first time in more than 200 years, two types of cicadas are emerging at the same time.
Scientists say both the 13 year and the 17-year cicadas will arrive in the next few weeks.
Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines
In this Cover Story from WGN’s Jackie Bange talks with local experts to delve deeper into these ear-splitting insects. Call it cicada trivia and help to expand our cicada knowledge before the invasion begins. The experts share what is interesting, bizarre, and sometimes disgusting.
Invaders from underground are coming in cicada-geddon. It’s the biggest bug emergence in centuries
Some quick cicada trivia:
Periodical cicadas have five eyes. The most prominent are the two red eyes. In very rare cases, one in a million, they may have white or blue eyes.
Cicadas can fly but expert Brett Peto says they’re not very agile, even klutzy.
Female cicadas can lay up to 600 eggs.
When cicadas die they make excellent fertilizer.
And more information can be found at
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
