A purple felt blanket for the more balmy evening temps. A teddy bear — for companionship. And then a spritz of greenery for natural comfort.
What more could a newly emerged cicada want?
For the insects lucky enough to appear on the front lawn of Stephanie and Fiona Tarrant’s Naperville home, that’s what awaits them: a bonafide cicada oasis. The mother and daughter have created a small habitat so the bugs can take a load off before they enjoy the rest of their weeks-long lifespans.
A cicada rests on a purple felt blanket in a habitat sanctuary created by Naperville mother and daughter Stephanie and Fiona Tarrant as the insects’ historic double emergence gets underway. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)
“I like seeing them crawl around in there,” Fiona, 10, said. “They’re cute.”
After much anticipation, Illinois’ historic double cicada emergence is finally underway.
For the first time in more than two centuries, two broods of cicadas are converging on the state at the same time. They belong to Brood XIX, four species that appear every 13 years in the southeast, and Brood XIII, three species that appear every 17 years in northern Illinois.
The last time this happened was in 1803, when Thomas Jeffreson was president and Illinois had yet to become a state.
Fiona — but her mom especially — have eagerly been awaiting the phenomenon to begin.
Stephanie, who’s originally from Canada but moved to Westchester when she was Fiona’s age, recalled first seeing cicadas emerge in droves when she was in middle school.
“There were cicadas everywhere,” she remembered.
Cicadas that get to set a spell in the habitat sanctuary built by Naperville mother and daughter Stephanie and Fiona Tarrant can relax on a strip of felt surrounded by fairy garden amenities and greenery. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)
They spend most of their lives — more than 90% — hidden underground. Of all insects, periodical cicadas have one of the longest development times. They grow underground until they are ready to come out to mate.
In the United States, there are 15 broods of periodical cicadas, each of which dig their way out to emerge on different 13- or 17-year cycles.
When she was younger, Stephanie recalled her dad “thinking they were just really neat,” she said. His affinity for the insects rubbed off on her.
“He used to tell us that we could just pick them up — that they were harmless. So we used to put them on our table in the back yard and kind of play with them and look at them,” she said.
Those early days spent buddying up with the insects helped Stephanie prepare for this year’s double emergence. She’s been looking forward to seeing cicadas everywhere again, and she’s hoping she can pass the same appreciation in Fiona that her dad instilled in her.
If the pair’s cicada sanctuary is any indication, loving — or at least respecting the insects — is in the 10-year-old’s blood.
Cicadas are mostly harmless insects unless they choose to lay their eggs in the smaller, newer branches of young trees, according to Jamie Viebach, horticulture educator for the University of Illinois Extension in Naperville. (Ken Johnson/Illinois Extension)
Fiona said her family’s homemade cicada habitat was borne out of a sleepover she had with her friends earlier this month. It was fairy-themed, an occasion they aptly honored by fashioning fairy gardens, she said. Once her garden was hot glued and ready for its debut, Fiona found herself looking at her creation and thinking that it could make a mighty fine home for some creatures.
“Then I realized, oh my gosh! The cicadas!” she said.
The sanctuary sits in a bird bath that rests right outside the Tarrants’ front door. It’s sort of like a terrarium, with little bits and bobs for the insects to land and walk on.
Every morning since setting it up, Stephanie has devoted a few minutes to finding and bringing cicadas to the sanctuary. Usually, she can fit in about seven or eight, she said.
“I don’t want it to get too crowded,” she quipped.
But the transient insects aren’t long-time visitors so there’s typically space for new guests with each passing day, Stephanie said.
As for which cicadas get the oasis treatment, it’s really a luck of the draw. As of last week, the insects were inundating the Tarrant’s front yard. Since the cicadas started emerging, Stephanie has repeatedly woken up to the insects gripping onto her car wheels, she said.
A cicada sits on a tree last week in the Naperville front yard of Stephanie and Fiona Tarrant. (Tess Kenny/Naperville Sun)
That’s usually where she starts her hunt for sanctuary candidates.
With cicadas likely to remain visible through June, Stephanie said she’s curious to see just how many will amass around her house, as well as across the state.
Fiona, meanwhile, is committed to giving her sanctuary inhabitants the best care possible. For instance, her latest addition to the habitat was a “blanket” — really just a strip of felt — to keep the insects cozy.
The cicadas readily took to the new amenity, Fiona proudly confirmed.
Chicago Tribune reporter Adriana Perez contributed.
