‘So Rare:’ Wheaton 4-year-old finds blue-eyed cicada
CHICAGO — Most of the millions and millions of cicadas that will be with us for the next few months have those bright red eyes. But one found recently by a 4-year-old has a rare mutation that gives the insect blue eyes.
Greta Bailey of west suburban Wheaton said her son, Jack, has been “in heaven” since the cicadas began emerging and, as children do, quickly took to collecting them. It was daughter Caroline who noticed the oddity while reviewing her brother’s collection.
“I thought it was cool and unique and had not heard that blue-eyed cicadas even existed,” Bailey explained.
After taking some photos, the children later let the critter go. It was only until after sharing news of the find with family that they came to learn how rare they were.
Bailey said they were “kicking” themselves for not keeping the bug. But as luck would have it, the kids — this time armed with flashlights — were able to find and collect the cicada a second time.
Through the help of a relative who has a contact at Chicago’s Field Museum, the Baileys reached out to gauge their interest.
“I have been in Chicago for five periodical Cicada emergences of our Brood XIII, and this is the first blue-eyed cicada I have seen,” said Jim Louderman, one of the museum’s collections assistants. “I have also seen two emergences of Brood X in Indiana and two emergences of Brood XIX in Central Illinois. These rare insect emergences are always infertile and can not have offspring, which is why they remain so rare.”
The cicada will be added to the museum’s behind-the-scenes collections of insects that serve as a library of life on earth for scientists from all over the world who want to know about what lived where and when, the museum said in a statement. Since blue-eyed cicadas are very rare, the Field Museum’s scientists will try to sequence its DNA to potentially learn more about the genes responsible for its blue eyes.
The public will get an opportunity to see the blue-eyed cicada when it’s on display at the museum during cicada-themed events happening weekly through the end of June.
The emergence of billions of buzzing, clicking cicadas is underway. In northern Illinois, we’re seeing the Brood XIII of periodical cicadas that were born in 2007. Another variety, Brood XIX, is emerging in central and southern parts of the state. Thomas Jefferson was president when the two broods last emerged together in 1803.
WGN has what you should know about cicadas and your home, your kids, your pets, and your garden.
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