Find Out Where Billions Of Cicadas Will Emerge In Illinois

ILLINOIS — Billions of cicadas will surface in Illinois this spring. But where, specifically, will they emerge?

In a rare event that hasn’t happened since 1803, two broods — the 17-year cicadas in Brood XIII, known as the Northern Illinois Brood, and the 13-year cicadas in Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood — will appear in the coming weeks.

But the broods won’t emerge in the same areas.

The Northern Illinois Brood, as the name implies, also known as Brood XIII, will mainly appear in the northern and central parts of the state, including the Chicago area and suburbs, according to the University of Illinois Extension.

The Great Southern Brood, Brood XIX, will be in southern and central Illinois, with the broods transitioning from one to the other around the Springfield area and more broadly throughout the middle of the state, according to the university.

“Most of the state of Illinois will experience periodical cicada emergence in 2024,” according to a document from the university. “Besides the noise, which may be substantial, this large group of insects is harmless and can be appreciated and enjoyed by nature lovers of all ages.”

To view a map with additional specifics on where each brood will be in Illinois, visit https://bit.ly/4cNtUkR.

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A tiny bit of southeast Iowa will also see both broods.

Brood XIII, or the Northern Illinois Brood, cicadas also appear in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and a bit of Michigan. The Northern Illinois brood has a reputation for being the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere. According to research done by entomologists Monte Lloyd and Henry Dybas at the Field Museum in Chicago, a 1956 brood of Northern Illinois cicadas produced 1.5 million cicadas per acre.

The Great Southern Brood, or Brood XIX cicadas, shown in light blue on the USDA cicada map (below), will be found in a much larger area that touches 15 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Illinois could have to contend with a third brood this year. Brood XXIII, or the Mississippi Valley Brood, isn’t expected until 2028 but may also yield some emerging cicadas — known as stragglers — this spring in the south and central parts of Illinois, according to the university.

Cicadas spend most of their lives underground as immature nymphs but appear en masse every 13 or 17 years. They should start tunneling toward the surface when soil temperatures reach about 64 degrees and are expected to appear for about four weeks during May and June in Illinois, according to the university.

Their extraordinarily long life cycle, the longest of any insect on the planet, is part of an evolutionary strategy that has allowed the species to survive for 1.8 million years, or from the Pleistocene Epoch.

Cicadas are about an inch long and have a three-inch wingspan. Their mating calls can be deafening, heralding their arrival above ground with a high-pitched cacophony of buzzing that can reach decibels of 100 or greater — about the same as a subway train, forklift or motorcycle.

Pesticides won’t kill cicadas and are not recommended.