Cicada’s

Posted on by MC2 · Leave a comment

This is an unusual year for Periodical Cicada’s. In Illinois we are expecting both a 17 year cycle brood and a 13 year cycle brood. So it should be a very active season. I don’t know if the Indiana Dunes are supposed to see both broods, but the Bailly Calumet trail was certainly quite full of them.

Fairly typical level of activity out in the open once the sun got overhead. They were notably subdued in within the shaded canopy of the trees.
This was fairly typical coverage throughout the forested portions of the trail. Lots of newly emerged adults hanging around lethargically, waiting for their exoskeletons to finish hardening before taking off and looking for a mate.
The deep red eye’s and oranges provide a nice complement to the green hues in the shade.
This one appears to be playing peek-a-boo. Though actually all it really wants is to avoid being eaten for long enough to find a mate and procreate. Regardless of whether or not they get eaten by something else, adult Cicada’s only live for a few weeks.
Another shy one, trying to hide behind a thin stem is just not working.
Is it a stare down, “This leaf ain’t big enough for the both of us!”? Or is it future mating pair, gazing longingly into each others eyes?

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