It’s A MagiCicada Fest Across the Midwest!
For the first time since 1803, two broods, or groups of periodical cicadas, are emerging simultaneously. Both broods will appear in Illinois and Iowa, allowing residents of Cook and Lake counties to hear this unique sonic event!
June 9 at Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area
On June 9th, MSAE will join Lake County Forest Preserve to celebrate at Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area. Led by MSAE member and naturalist Negin Almassi, we will lead soundwalks for listening with the cicadas and other singing insects in the surrounding woods. The Forest Preserve will also offer learning stations, insect demonstrations, a dress-up booth for kids, insect collecting, a cicada search, and much more!
June 15 at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center
On June 15th, MSAE will participate in Magicicada Fest at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont, Illinois. We will lead soundwalks by MSAE members Eric Leonardson and Kristine Diekman in the area to listen as Brood XIII emerges for the first time in 17 years! The event will also feature presentations, exhibits, and crafts.
MagiCicada Soundmap Project
Can’t make the events? You can still get involved by participating MagiCicada Soundmap citizen science project! Anywhere you hear cicadas, use iNaturalist to record the cicadas. You can identify the recordings as “Magicicada” and they will end up in the Singing Insects Monitoring Program project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/singing-insects-monitoring-program.
We will review the recordings, identify the species if there is only one on the recording, and use your data for creating soundmaps. Thank you for turning your ears to the cicadas!
Tune Your Ear to Singing Insects
In the lead up to this year’s MagiCicada Fest, naturalist Negin Almassi and Dr. Carl Strang co-authored, “Tune Your Ears to Singing Insects,” published in Legacy The Magazine of the National Association for Interpretation, 2022 Vol. 33/Number 1. Click here to download the PDF.
Listen Live Cicada Locustream
Many in the U.S. Midwest and Southern states are now experiencing the sounds of Magicicada Brood XIII and Brood XIX. Now you can listen from afar on the “cicada radio” audio livestream on the Internet. Visit Professor Emeritus Peter Gena’s 17-Year Cicada 2024 Page, click on the Locustream Soundmap image and listen live in stereo to the 17-year brood transmission from Glenview, Illinois. Also note, Pete’s web page includes audio captures indicating increasing sound pressure levels.
Calling All Ears Collective & Urban+Nature Sonic Pavillion
Currently, participants in the Calling All Ears Collective (CAEC), made up of multidisciplinary artists, cultural, and community scientists, local historians, and ecologists are listening, recording, and broadcasting from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Quoting from the call, “CAEC focuses on the [geographic] edges where the two broods are predicted to emerge. The emphasis is how we envision our human selves in relation to the two Broods, their habitat, and shared histories…creating a time frame for a broader audience shared experience with the public.” Many responded to our open call. Among them are composers and radio producers from Ireland, researching and collecting for next month’s the Urban+Nature Sonic Pavillion. Others are renowned for their explorations in cross-species communication and understanding. Please stay tuned for more!