Lake Forest’s Blue-eyed Cicada Discovered on June 1

Six-year-old Fritz turned to Lake Forest Open Lands Director of Engagement Julia Lunn and said, “Miss Julia, look at the eyes on this cicada!” There, on Fritz’s hand, was a blue-eyed cicada.

For several days, news sources around Chicagoland had reported on the rare blue-eyed cicada discoveries. Lake Forest Open Lands hosts Conservation Cocktails, a monthly lecture series focused on conservation and the environment. The guest at the most recent event was Jim Louderman, a collections assistant in the Gantz Family Collection Center, Insect Collections at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. Louderman spoke about the rarity of blue-eyed cicadas and the DNA testing the Field Museum is doing to further the research within the insect field. He encouraged those that found a blue-eyed cicada to reach out to the Field Museum.

“My work is connecting people to the natural world through programming at LFOLA," Lunn said. "Within 12 hours I had a scientist from the Field Museum talking about the rarity of this blue-eyed form, (then went) to being in the actual field with a 6-year-old with one in hand. It was a dream!”

Associate Curator of Entomology from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Allen Lawrance also participated in LFOLA’s Cicada Sensation weekend.

With guidance from both scientists, Fritz took the cicada home to observe for a couple of days. Once the cicada started slowing down, he was invited to hand deliver it to the Field Museum collections and DNA studies. Fritz was welcomed into the museum’s working spaces, behind the scenes where they prepare the collections. He was treated to a personalized tour of the insect collection from the largest bugs down to the very smallest.

“It was so cool to donate my discovery to science," Fritz said. "My favorite part is that it might travel around the world to other scientists and museums - it could even go to Antarctica!” A 6-year-old dream come true, and it all began on a hike in the preserve with a curious child and a one in a million blue-eyed cicada.

Since its establishment in 1967, Lake Forest Open Lands Association, the first accredited land trust in Illinois, has preserved and stewarded the finest natural habitats in the region including prairies, savannas, ravines and wetlands. Over 20 miles of walking trails and nine - soon to be 10 - nature preserves open to the public year-round. Lake Forest Open Lands Association’s mission includes ensuring that all generations are welcome and able to fully experience nature and offers robust engagement programming to connect all people with the wild spaces and special places of Northeast Illinois. As an independent conservation land trust, LFOLA is primarily supported by voluntary contributions, including membership dues and donations, and receives no local tax funding to support its day-to-day operations. For more information about Lake Forest Open Lands, visit LFOLA.org.