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cicadas in grass

A large cicada brood emerges around Western Springs Illinois on Wednesday May 22, 2024. | Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times

Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times

cicadas in grass

A large cicada brood emerges around Western Springs Illinois on Wednesday May 22, 2024. | Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times

Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times

WBEZ News

Why cicadas have been noticeably absent in Chicago

Here's what experts at the Field Museum say.

A large cicada brood emerges around Western Springs Illinois on Wednesday May 22, 2024. | Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times

Jim Vondruska/For the Sun-Times

   

The cicadas have already emerged throughout the suburbs. But their characteristic buzzing is notably absent in Chicago. And experts at the field museum say it’s likely to stay that way. That’s because there are very few old trees left in the city, and without the right habitat, don’t expect a lot of cicadas, they say.

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