State Symbols Game
State Insect
The Periodical Cicada?
Sorry. The State Insect of Illinois is not the periodical cicada (scientific name Magicicada spp.).
Periodical cicadas are found east of the Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes. In Illinois they live mainly in forests and woodlands. An individual cicada takes either 13 or 17 years to mature (depending on which population).
Thousands of these insects may emerge during a few weeks in the early summer. The simultaneous emergence overwhelms predators and allows many cicadas to mate successfully.