Periodical Cicadas In Illinois: Will We See Them Again In 2025?

"Cicada-Geddon," also known as the dual emergence of two broods of periodical cicadas, was fun last year, right? Okay, maybe fun isn't the right word...maybe I should have gone with interesting, or creepy, or depending on which part of the state of Illinois you live in, overblown and anti-climactic.

My neighborhood falls into the last one, anti-climactic. We were expecting non-stop noise-making, mating, and jet-like streams of cicada urine to be going on all over the place and we got literally nothing. Last summer in my neighborhood was like any other summer.

Other places throughout Illinois got the full-on treatment for weeks, followed by the stench of the decaying bodies of cicada party-goers.

Which brings me to to two questions: Will they be back in 2025, and if so, what can Illinoisans expect?

2025 Is Set To Be A Bad News/Good News Year When It Comes To The Topic Of Cicada Brood Emergences

Let's get right to the bad news, shall we?

There is going to be another cicada emergence this year, as Brood XIV comes out of a 17 year assignment of being underground living on tree roots to get loud, mate, and pee all over everything.

Make no mistake, this is going to be another big one when it comes to the sheer numbers of cicadas that will be coming out the ground. Brood XIV is the second-largest periodical brood of cicadas.

Before you start groaning at the idea of going through another cicada emergence, along with the round-the-clock hype that goes along with that, you should wait to hear the good news part of this scenario.

Just Like Last Year, The Exact Timing Of Brood XIV's Emergence This Year Is Hard To Nail Down, But The Cicada Experts Out There Think It Will Be Late In May Or Early In June

I mentioned that this was a bad news/good news scenario, and I've already given you the bad news that another cicada brood will be popping out the ground this year--so let's get to the good news part:

The cicadas of Brood XIV will not, repeat, will not be emerging in the state of Illinois.

WGNTV.com:

(Brood XIV) stretches from Southern Ohio through Kentucky and Tennessee. Parts of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina are also expected to see the cicadas in 2025. There are also patches of Brood XIV territory in northeast Georgia; central Pennsylvania; Long Island, New York; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, according to the University of Connecticut.

The bottom line is that yes, lots of cicadas are coming...but not to Illinois this time.