Category: Brood XIII

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Brood XIII Brood XIX Magicicada Periodical

A quick way to tell the difference between the 7 periodical cicadas species

Here is a quick way to tell the difference between the 7 periodical cicada species:

Download this chart. Click/tap for a larger version:

The songs of Magicicada cassini (17-year) and Magicicada tredecassini (13-year) are essentially identical:

M. cassini:

M. tredecassini:

The songs of Magicicada septendecula (17-year) and Magicicada tredecula (13-year) are essentially identical:

M. septendecula (©Joe Green):

M. tredecula:

The songs of Magicicada septendecim (17-year), M. neotredecim (13-year), and Magicicada tredecim (13-year) are essentially identical. M. neotredecim varies the sound of its call in the presence of M. tredecim.

M. septendecim:

M. neotredecim (© Insect Singers)

M. tredecim (© Insect Singers)

And/or watch this video:

Then read this and listen to the sound files on the page: Where will 17 & 13 Year Periodical Cicada Broods emerge next?

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Books Brood XIII Brood XIX Magicicada Periodical

New Brood XIX and XIII Cicada Book by Dr. Gene Kritsky

Cicada researcher and communicator Dr. Gene Kritsky has a new book about Brood XIX and XIII which are both emerging in the spring of 2024: A Tale of Two Broods: The 2024 Emergence of Periodical Cicada Broods XIII and XIX. It is available in paperback and Kindle formats.

A Tale of Two Broods: The 2024 Emergence of Periodical Cicada Broods XIII and XIX

Other posts about Dr. Gene Kritsky on this site:

  1. An Interview with Gene Kritsky
  2. Gene Kritsky’s new cicada site and Brood XIV news
  3. Periodical Cicadas: The Brood X Edition by Gene Kritsky
  4. Gene’s App: Cicada Safari app for tracking Magicicada periodical cicadas
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Brood XIII Magicicada Periodical Stragglers

Fall Magicicada cassini straggler found in Park Ridge, IL

Mary Rotter Fullerton found, or rather heard and recorded, a Brood XIII Magicicada cassini straggler on October 2nd, 2023, in Park Ridge, Illinois! This cicada emerged 7 months early!

Listen to the edited file (volume increased, background noise removed):

There are squirrel sounds in the mix as well.

Mary says:

Very cool, I have never heard one in fall. It was in a 50-year old maple tree that hosted many stragglers (early Brood XIII?) this past spring of 2023. Park Ridge, IL.

Spectrogram:
Mary Rotter Fullerton

David Marshall of InsectSingers.com confirmed that this is indeed a Magicicada cassini.

David says:

Yes to me that’s unquestionably a set of cassini calls. There are some literature records of autumn Magicicada, sometimes with speculation that it’s related to sudden late-season warmups.

It looks like there’s been quite a few fall stragglers, according to the Magicicada Straggler project on iNaturalist.

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Brood X Brood XIII Brood XIV Brood XIX Magicicada Periodical

2023 Magicicada straggler update

Updated for June 7th!

Here’s a map of 2023 Magicicada straggler sightings from 2023 Magicicada stragglers iNaturalist project and the Cicada Safari app. Dr. Gene Kritsky compiled the map.

Kritsky map June 7

It looks like there are plenty of stragglers from these broods:

Learn about Magicicada stragglers.

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Brood XIII Magicicada Molting Nymphs Periodical

Periodical cicada nymphs emerging at night

One of the most fun periodical cicada experiences is watching thousands of nymphs emerge from the ground at night, crawl to the nearest vertical surface (hopefully a tree) and begin to molt.

This is a video by Roy Troutman from 2007 of the Brood XIII emergence, specifically in Ryerson Woods in Illinois:

Observing magicicada emergence at Ryerson Woods from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.

Here’s a time-lapse video, also by Roy, of a cicada nymph molting:

Magicicada nymph molting from Roy Troutman on Vimeo.

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Accelerations Brood XIII Magicicada Periodical Stragglers U.S.A.

Chicago Area Periodical Cicada Emergences in 2020

Many periodical cicadas emerged four years early in the Chicago area in 2020. These cicadas belong to the Brood XIII (13) which is set to emerge in 2024, and last emerged in 2007. Periodical cicadas often emerge in years proceeding or following the year their brood is expected to emerge. This phenomenon is called straggling. Most of the time these “stragglers” emerge in small numbers and are quickly eaten by predators, and do not go on to sing, chorus (synchronized singing for the purpose of attracting females), mate, and lay eggs. Sometimes they emerge in numbers large enough to survive, chorus, and reproduce — this seems to have happened in the Chicago area in 2020. It is thought this is how new broods formed over the millennia — cicadas emerge 4 or 1 year early in significant numbers and form a new brood. When enough stragglers emerge to successfully reproduce it is called an acceleration.

So, is a new brood forming around Chicago? Is this due to climate change or localized “heat islands”? Will the progeny of these stragglers emerge in 13, 17 or 21 years? Lots of questions — but we’ll need to wait quite some time to answer them.

There is a precedence for Brood XIII cicadas straggling in the Chicago area:

In 1969 massive numbers of periodical cicadas emerged in the Chicago suburbs 1 (Williams, K.S. & Simon, C. 1995).

In 1986, another 4-year acceleration was observed in the Chicago area by Monte Lloyd 1.

In 2003, many people left observations on our forums. Observations were made in Glenview, Flossmoor, Riverside, Downers Grove, Homewood, Westmont, Oak Park, and Hinsdale. Here are some examples:

Magicicada emerging this evening

Date: Wednesday, Jun/4/2003

As I went for a walk this evening I noticed quite a few periodic cicadas emerging in the grass, crawling on the sidewalks and on the trunks of trees. This is not our year for the 17-year brood. We should not have them until 2007. Has anyone else in the Chicago area seen these cicadas? — Sue, Flossmoor, IL

Cicada singing

Date: Monday, Jun/9/2003

I heard the cicadas singing for the first time this morning after my walk. Now that I have my doors open I can hear them on and off. — Sue, Flossmoor, IL

In 2020 many people left comments on the Brood XIII page, emailed us (thanks Neil) and left sightings via the Cicada Safari app.

1Williams, K.S. & Simon, C. 1995. The Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution of Periodical Cicadas. Annual Review of Entomology. Vol. 40:269-295 (https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.en.40.010195.001413).

Categories
Brood XIII Magicicada Periodical

Brood XIII (13) cicadas have emerged in 2024 in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan

Periodical cicada Brood XIII (13) emerged in the spring of 2024 in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan (in one or two places). Brood XIII: rotten, but not forgotten. See you in 2041 (Yikes). Relive the memories: Gene Kritsky released a new book. See what people found iNaturalist: Flagging (Brown Leaves), Brood XIII, Massospora, and Blue and White eyes. Buy a shirt. Yes, Brood XIX also emerged in 2024, they did not overlap, but came close in the Springfield, Illinois area.

BROOD XIII HAS ARRIVED

What, when, where, and why:

What:

Millions of these:
Adult, Nymph, Molting Cicada

  • Cicada insects with a 17-year life cycle.
  • Some people call them “locusts” but they are cicadas.
  • Which species: All three 17-year species, Magicicada septendecim, Magicicada cassini, and Magicicada septendecula. How to tell the difference between the species.
  • NOT the green cicadas that arrive annually.
  • The last time Brood XIII emerged was in 2007.

Videos from 2009:

When: Typically beginning in mid-May and ending in late June. These cicadas will begin to emerge approximately when the soil 8 inches beneath the ground reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. A nice, warm rain will often trigger an emergence.

Other tips: these cicadas will emerge after the trees have grown leaves, and, by my own observation, around the same time Iris flowers bloom.

Where:

Check out the iNaturalist live map.

  • Illinois places: Belvidere, Brookfield, Channahon, Chicago, Des Plaines River Trail, Downers Grove, Egermann Woods County Forest Preserve, Elmhurst, Flossmoor, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Homewood, La Grange, Lagrange Woods, Lake Forest, Lansing, Lincolnshire, Lisle, Lombard, MacArthur Woods Forest Preserve, Marseilles, McHenry, McKinley Woods, Morton Arboretum, Naperville, Northbrook, Ogden, Ottawa, Palos Heights, River Forest, River Grove, Romeoville, Ryerson Woods, Schiller Park, Thornton, Vernon Hills, Villa Park, Weaton, Western Springs, Westmont, Wonder Lake, and more.
  • Illinois counties: Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Cook, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Jo Daviess, Kankakee, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McHenry, McLean, Menard, Peoria, Putnam, Sangamon, Stark, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago, Woodford.
  • Iowa places: Atalissa, Solon, and more.
  • Iowa counties: Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Cedar, Dubuque, Henry, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Louisa, Muscatine, Scott, Tama.
  • Wisconsin locations: Aurora University, Big Foot Beach State Park, Lake Geneva, Moraine Nature Preserve, and more.
  • Wisconsin counties: Crawford, Grant, Green. Rock, Walworth.
  • Indiana locations: Crown Point, Portage, Purdue-North Central, Valparaiso, and more.
  • Indiana counties: LaPorte, Porter, Lake.
  • Michigan: According to Cicadas @ UCONN (formerly Magicicada.org), Magicicada have been found along the border of Michigan and Indiana.
  • Michigan places: Niles!

More Location Tips:

Local Events

Lake County Forest Preserve in Illinois: 1) A cicada exhibit opening at the Dunn Museum in Libertyville, IL on April 27th. 2) Cicadas of Lake County on 5/2. 3) Celebrating Cicadas on 5/16. 4) On Sunday, June 9th, they plan to hold CicadaFest at Ryerson Woods. Insects, and of course, cicadas will be featured.

Why: Why do they stay underground for 17 years? The prevailing research suggests they have evolved a long lifecycle allowing them to avoid predators that would sync up with their lifecycle & emergence. Why are there so many?! Research suggests that their huge numbers allow them to overwhelm predators, so enough of them will live on to breed and perpetuate the brood.

More facts and fun:

1907 Map from Marlatt, C.L.. 1907. The periodical cicada. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology.

See a modern map or the Live Map from the Cicada Safari app.
Marlatt 1907 13 Brood XIII

What was the emergence in 2007 like?

Get the retro 2007 Brood XIII shirt:

Retro 2007

Categories
Brood XIII Pop Culture

Cicada Carousel Ride at the Brookfield Zoo

Cicada Carousel Ride at the Brookfield Zoo, in Brookfield, Illinois. 2007 in celebration of Brood XIII.

Cicada Carousel Ride at the Brookfield Zoo

Cicada Carousel Ride at the Brookfield Zoo

Categories
Brood XIII Magicicada Periodical

Lake County Forest Preserves Cicada Mania! Festival, part 4

Here are some photos from the Cicada Mania! Festival at the Lake County Forest Preserves at Ryerson Woods back in 2008 for the Brood XIII Magicicada emergence.

Skip to Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.

Magicicada cicadas. Most, if now all are Magicicada septendecim:

Cicada on a leg. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Cicada on a hand. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Many Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Many Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Magicicada septendecim.

Updating Magicicada back at my hotel room (giant Alien Ware laptop):
Updating cicadamania.com

Categories
Brood XIII Magicicada Periodical

Lake County Forest Preserves Cicada Mania! Festival, part 3

Here are some photos from the Cicada Mania! Festival at the Lake County Forest Preserves at Ryerson Woods back in 2008 for the Brood XIII Magicicada emergence.

Skip to Part 1, Part 2, or Part 4.

These are photos of Magicicada, most if not all are Magicicada septendecim:

Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

3 Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Many Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Many Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.

Many Magicicada. Magicicada. Lake County Forest Preserve outside of Chicago. Brood XIII. 2007.