Science

‘So rare:’ 4-year-old finds blue-eyed cicada

by BJ Lutz 05/23/24 12:29 PM ET

The blue-eyed cicada was found by 4-year-old Jack Bailey of Wheaton. (Greta Bailey)

Story at a glance

Most cicadas have bright red eyes.

One found recently by a 4-year-old in suburban Wheaton, Illinois has a rare mutation that gives the insect blue eyes.

Chicago’s Field Museum now has the specimen for study and will put it on display.

CHICAGO (WGN) — Most of the millions and millions of cicadas that will be with parts of the country for the next few months have those signature bright red eyes. But one found recently by a 4-year-old has a rare mutation that gives the insect blue eyes.

Greta Bailey of west suburban Wheaton said her son, Jack, has been “in heaven” since the cicadas began emerging and, as children do, quickly took to collecting them. It was daughter Caroline who noticed the oddity while reviewing her brother’s collection.

“I thought it was cool and unique and had not heard that blue-eyed cicadas even existed,” Bailey explained.

After taking some photos, the children later let the critter go. It was only until after sharing news of the find with family that they came to learn how rare they were.

Jack Bailey, 4, with a handful of cicadas found in his Wheaton yard. (Greta Bailey)

Bailey said they were kicking themselves for not keeping the bug. But as luck would have it, the kids — this time armed with flashlights — were able to find and collect the cicada a second time.

This specimen, a female Magicicada cassini, is the first blue-eyed cicada ever added to the Field Museum’s collections of cicadas dating back more than a century. (The Field Museum of Natural History )

Through the help of a relative who has a contact at Chicago’s Field Museum, the Baileys reached out to gauge their interest.

“I have been in Chicago for five periodical Cicada emergences of our Brood XIII, and this is the first blue-eyed cicada I have seen,” said Jim Louderman, one of the museum’s collections assistants. “I have also seen two emergences of Brood X in Indiana and two emergences of Brood XIX in Central Illinois. These rare insect emergences are always infertile and can not have offspring, which is why they remain so rare.”

The cicada will be added to the museum’s behind-the-scenes collections of insects that serve as a library of life on earth for scientists from all over the world who want to know about what lived where and when, the museum said in a statement. Since blue-eyed cicadas are very rare, the Field Museum’s scientists will try to sequence its DNA to potentially learn more about the genes responsible for its blue eyes.

The public will get an opportunity to see the blue-eyed cicada when it’s on display at the museum during cicada-themed events happening weekly through the end of June.