Is It Cicada Time? Some Chicago Burbs Reporting Early Emergence

It's not like anyone is running around screaming "I was told we had more time!" but according to scattered reports, those cicadas we've been expecting to burst out of the ground, make deafening noise, mate like crazy, and pee on every square inch of Illinois might be here ahead of schedule.

To be fair about it, that "schedule" is kind of iffy, at best.

I'm pretty sure that bugs that spend over a decade underground chugging liquids out of plant roots probably don't wear a wristwatch or wait for a notification on their phone that it's time to break the surface.

The experts may say that we've got 2-3 weeks before the cicada emergence, but others say it's already getting started.

Most Of The Cicada Experts Have Been Saying That Mid-May Is Probably When The Largest Part Of The Cicada Emergence Will Take Place, Because Soil Temperatures Will Be Optimum

According to a post by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "the particular night of the periodical cicadas’ emergence depends on soil temperature. Cicada juveniles, or nymphs, emerge after a rainstorm when the soil temperature at 8 inches in depth exceeds approximately 64°F."

We haven't achieved those temperatures here in Northern Illinois yet, but that doesn't mean all those cicadas are willing to wait until we do before they get to the business they've been waiting so long for.

Sightings Of Emerging Cicadas Have Already Started In Chicago And The Suburbs

Here's what the ground looks like when cicadas have emerged or are about to:

According to published reports, emerging Illinois cicadas have been observed in:

• Chicago's Lincoln Park and Old Town Triangle neighborhoods
• Downers Grove
• Lake Forest
• South Holland
• New Lennox

A resident of a south suburb recently uploaded this video to Reddit, saying that he had moved some bricks next to a fence, only to find signs of what's to come: "Anyway, if what I videoed is any indication then the cicada brood under my yard is going to be a massive emergence."