(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The summer of cicadas appears to be reaching its peak in the Chicago area.
Chris Dietrich, a state entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, said periodical cicadas in central and southern Illinois are already waning. That means Chicago-area residents won’t be far behind in hearing the mating calls of the males get quieter from the roar they are currently.
“If you haven’t seen them yet, then you’re not going to,” he told WBBM.
Cicadas aren’t very mobile and the soil has been warm enough for a while for them to emerge from areas with old-growth trees, said Dietrich.
He says the die off is coming soon, starting with the males who make their mating call.
“The females still will be out, quietly looking for places to lay their eggs for the next month or so, but most of them are going to be dying back in the next few weeks,” Dietrich said.
Once the females pass, Dietrich said they’ll be gone for another 17 years.
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