A 17-year batch of cicadas is expected to emerge in the greater Chicago area (where I live) this May or early June. Known as Brood XIII, these cicadas are Magicicadas and are periodicals, meaning they emerge to mate and lay eggs only once every 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood. (Annuals, on the other hand, appear every year in smaller numbers.) The last time Brood XIII emerged in Chicago was in 1990, creating a outdoor spectacle I still remember, even though I was only six at the time. This year I'll try to get some pictures to post.

The Lake County Forest Preserves has an informative article about cicadas. The hat tip for that link goes to Cicada Mania, a unique blog tracking everything that has to do with these loud and remarkable bugs.

Below is a painting of Magicicada septendecim from Robert E. Snodgrass's 1930 book, "Insects, Their Ways and Means of Living."

image by R.E. Snodgrass. not in copyright.