Goodbye Cicadas...We Hardly Knew Ye, Well, Some of Us

The great infestation of Cicada Brood XIII has come and gone here in the Chicago area. Some people really got to see them, some, like me, saw some, others saw none. It just depended where you were.

I saw a couple at the historic Woodstock Square, and a couple in the yard here in Spring Grove. I did come across large numbers in Bull Valley, especially along Thompson Road. I had to wash the car after a couple encounters there. The last one I saw in the yard was flying for his life with a sparrow in hot pursuit.

Those people who were in areas heavily populated by them had quite a cleanup to do, as well as a battle with the stench of their decaying bodies, which were in the thousands in some spots. That smell was described as a cross between dead raccoon and fresh-mown grass. Personally, I like the smell of fresh-mown grass, but could do without the dead raccoon.

The Chicago Tribune ran an article on June 23rd, about the scientists and observers who were frantically running around the whole area gathering information about them. If the cicadas were busy this past month molting, mating, laying eggs, and dying, these stalwarts were just as occupied.

Reporter John Blemer went along with University of Connecticut entomologist John Cooley, who, along with a dozen others, fanned out across four states listening for that unmistakable buzz. I found that individuals sounded more like a crying, screaming mix. However, along Thompson Road, the chorus almost hurt your ears.

On the 24th, Cooley had driven out to Fox Lake (by us), Woodstock, and as far west as Rock Cut State Park near Rockford. His mission to collect new data on the cicadas. He was sponsored by the National Geographic. Hopefully, we will have a better idea where they'll be in 2024 when they make their return. Modern technology such as cell phones, global positioning, and interactive web maps will help.

Sometimes, he would stop every tenth of a mile and listen. In Bull Valley, he didn't have to as it was so loud. He had gone as far south as Springfield, to central Iowa, and southern Wisconsin. All together, he went about 7000 miles.

Sure Would Have Liked to See Some More Cicadas, but Maybe that was for the Best. Now I Have Those Very UNWELCOME Japanese Beetles. --RoadDog