Photo by Peggy Greb, USDA/ARS
The cicadas are coming! Periodical cicadas in Illinois in 2024
February 22, 2024 Ken Johnson
Click here for the full article: Cicadas
Periodical cicadas in Illinois in 2024. A black cicada with orange wings and red eyes rests on a green leaf
Can you hear them? Probably not yet, but soon, Illinois will be awash in the songs of periodical cicadas. This year (2024) is a big year for periodical cicadas in Illinois, where Broods XIII and XIX will be emerging throughout much of the state at the same time. This is the first time this has happened since 1803, and it won’t happen again until 2245! Despite some talk of an impending insect apocalypse, cicadas don’t pose a threat to humans (or pets), although that newly planted tree or shrub may be a different story.
While two broods will be emerging at the same time, they won't be emerging in the same places. Brood XIII, also known as the Northern Illinois Brood, will be emerging in the northern half of the state. Brood XIII contains all three species of 17-year periodical cicadas: Magicicada septendecim, M. cassini, and M. septendecula. In addition to Illinois, this brood will be emerging in Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and possibly Michigan.
Brood XIX, also known as the Great Southern Brood, will be emerging in the southern half of Illinois. The four species of cicadas in this brood are 13-year cicadas: Magicicada tredecim, M. neotredecim, M. tredecassini, and M. tredecula. This brood is the largest of the 13-year broods, geographically speaking, and will emerge across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
There may be a few places in central Illinois, around Springfield, where the two broods will be emerging in the same area. However, they aren’t expected to overlap to any great extent.
In addition to Broods XIII and XIX, there may be some cicadas from Brood XXIII, the Mississippi Valley Brood, that may emerge. This brood will emerge in 2028, but occasionally, some periodical cicadas will emerge four years early, which in this case would be 2024, and are referred to as stragglers. If any stragglers from Brood XXIII do emerge it will be primarily in far southern Illinois. Download the Cicada 2024 Broods Fact Sheet, which includes a map of where periodical cicadas are expected to emerge.