Fond du Lac County Audubon Society to host program on Cicadas

The public is invited to a free presentation titled “The Magic of 2024’s Periodical Cicadas” which will take place Wednesday, October 9, at 7 pm, at MPTC, in Room B141.

This engaging online presentation will be given by Patrick (PJ) Liesch, an Extension entomologist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a science communicator, and the director of the UW Insect Diagnostic Lab, who also shares the world of insects as @WisconsinBugGuy on Twitter/X.

This year, the U. S. experienced a rare double emergence of periodical cicadas (Broods XIII and XIX), which last emerged at the same time in 1803. While states like Illinois saw activity from both broods, Wisconsin only saw the emergence of Brood XIII (17-year) periodical cicadas, which last appeared in 2007.

The program will review the biology of these amazing insects, discuss the activity in the eastern U.S, and also share some initial findings of a community science project related to these insects.