The 2024 cicada emergence is underway in Illinois. A rare, blue-eyed female Magicicada cassini cicada was spotted Friday at The Morton Arboretum in suburban Chicago. A lucky few saw it before it was released back into the world to join its red-eyed relatives. The collections manager of the Department of Entomology at the Smithsonian Institute says the blue-eyed cicada is rare, “but it is impossible to estimate how rare." Periodical cicadas emerge every 13 or 17 years. The 17-year brood is starting to appear in spots in northern Illinois. Both broods will converge in the southern part of the state.
