17 years, 64 degrees, 100 decibels

Post by Brett Peto

The alarm clock is ready to ring for the periodical cicadas of Lake County. The previous mass emergence of these impressive bugs in 2007 set the alarm for 2024. During spring and summer 17 years ago, millions of cicadas tunneled out of the soil, crawled up trees, sang, mated and completed their life cycle. This will be a magical year for their offspring.

A True Bug

Adult periodical cicadas have dark bodies, red eyes and orange-veined wings. Illustration ©️ Samantha Gallagher.
Adult periodical cicadas have dark bodies, red eyes and orange-veined wings. Illustration ©️ Samantha Gallagher.
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The din of the dog days

Post by Jen Berlinghof

The dog days of summer are a bounty for the senses. We see the lemon-yellow of whorled sunflower blooms, taste the ripe flavor of a homegrown tomato, smell the spicy sweetness of bee balm flowers, feel the heat of the day and the cool of the evening. Yet the most quintessential sensation of these end-of-summer days is hearing the overwhelming cacophony of cicada songs around the Lake County Forest Preserves in northern Illinois.

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