What to do with dead cicadas when hatchling ends? Researchers speak out – NBC Chicago

The historic 17-year-old cicada brood that Illinois has been battling for weeks will soon die off, and as residents notice the smell of the brood’s decay, they may be wondering: What to do with the dead cicadas?

If homeowners want to get rid of the dead bodies and exoskeletons, researchers and specialists at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle recommend using them as fertilizer because of their positive effects on the soil microbiome.

“We recommend that people keep them in their bed,” said Stephanie Adams, plant health department manager. “You can cover it with mulch so you don’t necessarily have to see them.”

“To compost them,” Adams continued, “you can rake them into your lawn and chop them up with your lawn mower. That will make them decompose a little faster.”

Adams and her colleagues described the last five weeks as a whirlwind of cicada research.

“I think it’s a fascinating experience, and I think a lot of other people feel the same way,” she said. “I think it’s given a lot of people an appreciation for insects and insect biology.”

If you notice small branches and leaves piling up in your yard, there’s a reason for it. According to Adams, female cicadas lay their eggs on the underside of these branches.

“What will eventually happen is that the worn branches will break off the tree and fall to the ground. This will allow the cicada eggs, the nymphs, which hatch in five to seven weeks, to crawl into the soil and continue their life cycle.”

While some people may not like the sight, sound and smell — “It’s like dirt plus crayons, I don’t know why. It’s a very organic, thick smell,” she laughed — Adams said cicadas play a vital role in our ecosystem and wildlife.

“Many different animals eat the cicadas, so people are already noticing that there is a larger bird population and that foxes and copperhead snakes are eating them,” she said.

She is already looking forward to the next performance.

“In our area of ​​northern Illinois, we don’t expect another breeding population for quite some time,” Adams said. “It will probably be another 14 years before we see them again.”

By then, she hopes, researchers will have learned much more about the harmless insects beyond their life cycle.

“People are really interested in looking into this in more detail, so I expect that in 17 years we will be much better informed and able to give better advice, particularly about which trees to protect, which species, which sizes and all those things – we will just be better informed,” she said.