Researchers at the Morton Arboretum in Chicago’s western suburbs have started their study, even though the big cicada emergence is finished. Marvin Lo, the research program manager at the Root Biology Laboratory, and his team, are collecting dead cicadas for samples which will be subject to an intensive study.

“We managed to collect many bags,” said Lo as he displayed containers full of dried bits of cicada. “They’ve all dehydrated into these parts of cicadas.”

In the upcoming months, volunteers will help with drying these pieces further. They’ll take measures of their biomass and reduce them into powder by grinding and crushing for additional analysis.

Study Purposes

This study seeks to comprehend different elements of forest ecosystems and how cicadas fit into it. “We’re trying to connect these processes to the activities of cicadas including other concurrent happenings in our ecosystem,” shared Lo. He expects this inquiry could produce extensive data within a span of five to ten years.

An important part of this study is determining if there are certain varieties of trees that cicadas prefer over others. “It’s possible they favor some species,” Lo speculated. “We can’t confirm until we have reviewed our data but that’s one thing we want to investigate.”

The research also aims at observing what nutrients cicadas contribute back into forest soil. “Cicadas have been consuming nutrients from plants and trees underground for 17 years,” explained Lo. “All at once there’s a spike in nutrients return as they emerge from beneath the earth, we’re monitoring how this impacts our own trees growth.”

Longterm Consequences

Lo spoke about potential lasting effects caused by emergence cycles on ecosystems such as the one observed in cicadas. “We could potentially observe a change in cicadas even 17 years from now,” he shared. “If they were suddenly wiped off by disease, what would that entail for our forests? That’s an area where we lack knowledge.”

Through data collection, Lo hopes to have a clearer understanding of cicadas’ role in the ecosystem. Despite their nuisance aspect, cicadas fit an important part in the overall function of ecosystems. “Though they might be noisy and unpleasing to smell every one of their contributions are key to maintaining functions of the ecosystem,” concluded Lo.

Cicada Season

Though the enormous emergence of periodic cicadas in 2024 is about to finish, Illinois has not yet rid themselves of this insect. Another batch known as “dog day” cicadas will soon emerge which appear every summer unlike their measure’s kin.

Differences between Periodic and Annual Cicadas

The associate curator of entomology at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Allen Lawrance gave a differentiation about these two types. “Periodic ones have smaller sizes and look more cylinder like,” he noted. “Our annual ones sit larger with green color and have a tougher build.”

Usually, annual ones make louder noise, but periodical breeds can sometimes be louder due to great numbers present. The latter emerges every 13 or 17 years while annual ones emerge yearly with overlapping generations minus synchronization.

Emergence pattern.

Dog day” or annual variation usual rises around the months July, August and September. They live shorter lives between two to five years compared to periodical breed that take longer 13 or 17-year cycle. The latter going dormant until soil temperatures reach up to 64 degrees before showing up while dog day fill summer heat before surfacing.

Impacts and Observations

Though they are billions of periodical cicadas from Broods XIII and XIX anticipated to emerge in Illinois this spring and summer, residents have no choice but to adapt around it,” according to Lawrance. “You’ll keep spotting them flying or resting on trees, even hearing them could be unavoidable.”

Raising awareness about the upcoming cicada eggs phenomenon is also important issue beyond dog day cicadas. In sufficient conditions, spectators can view hatching nymphs dropping onto the ground between six to ten weeks after the eggs were laid.

The Life Cycles of Cicadas

Cicada life patterns whether Periodical and Annual, vary distinguished by juvenile stage whereby they live beautifully underground, feeding on tree roots. They go through stages where they morph, fly onto trees for mating eggs activities before meeting their death. Their hatched offspring would venture underground as larvae for the cycle to restart.

Interestingly, annual species takes longer time period for emergence as well as live slightly longer, resulting in extended engagement between them that might last until late September.

Conclusion

The Morton Arboretum continually seeks new information about how important cicadas are in our ecosystems through their studies. Despite the nuisances during its emergence its positive environmental impact is undoubted beneficial. This ongoing research will likely produce new findings on how cicada’s impact both forest health and nutrient cycles. These will assist us in getting ready for future emergences and their potential effects on ecology.