Much has been said about the upcoming historic emergence of cicadas that will peak in Illinois this spring, but while the noise and numbers may have some concerned, there could be a hidden benefit to the boom that many don't know about.
And it could even save you money.
While experts note there are several benefits to a cicada emergence like the one expected in 2024, there's one in particular that homeowners will want to pay attention to.
"If you want to fertilize your garden, or save on fertilizer for your garden, you could just throw some piles of cicadas in there as they decompose," Allen Lawrance, associate curator of entomology at the Peggy Notebart Nature Museum in Chicago, told NBC Chicago.
Cicadas are known for their impacts on soil and lawns, among other ecological improvements they can bring.
The Environmental Protection Agency notes the insects "can aerate lawns and improve water filtration into the ground" and "add nutrients to the soil as they decompose."
"Just add them to your compost pile, you know? Just let them break down," cicada expert Catherine Dana, an affiliate with the Illinois Natural History Survey, told NBC Chicago.
Local
And there will likely be no shortage of carcases in the upcoming emergence, which is expected to bring two massive broods to the surface at one time, including a narrow overlap of both in parts of Illinois.
According to Lawrance, two groups of cicadas — one known as Brood XIII, the other as Brood XIX — will surface at the same time in Illinois, creating a rare event that hasn't happened for 221 years.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
"They have a synchronized emergence where they all come out at the same time ... it's going to be pretty exciting," Lawrance said.
Brood XIX will emerge "all across northern Illinois," while Brood XIII will be in the southern part of the state, Lawrance said, with some parts of the state seeing both. And while different broods of periodic cicadas typically emerge most years across different parts of the U.S., it just so happens that this year, the crown belongs to Illinois.
"We're at the center of the explosion this year," Lawrance said. "It's pretty rare to have two broods - one of 17-year cicadas, one of 13-year cicadas - emerging at the same time in an area where they overlap a little bit."
For the past 17 years, billions of cicadas from Brood XIX have been living underground, tapping into fluid from plant roots, Lawrance said. Once they emerge, they'll be around for between four and six weeks, Lawrance added.
"That's kind of the great role they play within our ecosystems, is they spend a lot of time concentrating nutrients from a really good food resource that is the xylem and plants," Lawrance said. "And then, when they emerge en mass, they return those nutrients to the soil in one big group."
According to Lawrance, those nutrients could also be used in home gardens. And the nutrients could result in a "big boost" in plant growth over the next couple of years, he added.
"All the animals that are around when they emerge are going to be very full and happy," Lawrance said. "Plants are going to get a boost in fertilizer for a little bit..when we have extreme weather events, like a drought, that cicada emergence happens at the right time that can provide a really valuable food source when nutrients are very scarce."
But according to Lawrance, the cicada distribution will be patchy.
"Not every neighborhood is going to be as dense with them as others," he said. "One area may be slightly more quiet, and you'll hear them in the distance. And then you go to the next neighborhood, and it's hoppin', and they're everywhere."
There is one determining factor, however: If they were there before, they'll be there again.
"So, which neighborhoods you would expect to find them in will depend on where they were last time they emerged," Lawrance said. "If the soil had been completely dug up and replaced due to construction, there may be fewer cicadas there. But if they were there last time, chances are, they'll still be there."
The same goes for the next 17 years.
After they emerge this spring and summer, female periodical cicadas will lay their eggs on the tips of tree branches. Eventually, those eggs will hatch and drop down into the soil, Lawrance said. The nymphs then burrow underground, and their 17-year cycle of life begins again.
