Imagine you are lounging on your patio on a bright sunny day. The birds are singing, there is a light breeze, and you smell the beautiful occasional scent of flowers. All of a sudden, you hear a buzz–it’s kind of like a hum. It sounds like it is coming from every direction. Then, it gets louder. All at once, it abruptly stops.

What was this strange noise that you heard? It was the mating call of a popular summer insect–the cicada. Cicadas are a big-eyed, ugly, skin-shedding insect that come out when the weather starts to get warmer. If you’ve never seen a cicada, you’ve probably at least seen the shells that they shed. These shells are usually found towards the bottom of trees and on the under-side of strong leaves. The noise that you usually associate with cicadas is produced by the males. Some cicadas have a bodily structure called a tymbral that they use to make their sound. Others rub their wings over the ridges on their body to create this noise. Either way, it is still their mating call.

Cicadas actually have a fairly long lifespan ranging from 2-5 years. These insects spend most of their lives underground where they feed on plant roots. The different broods of cicadas emerge from the ground at different times. This year, two of the broods, the 13-year cycle brood and the 17-year cycle brood, are going to emerge at the same time. Two groups of cicadas haven’t emerged at the same time since 1803, and it will be happening right here in Illinois. So, be prepared to hear a lot of cicadas this spring and summer. They will be everywhere!