WHAT A BUMPER CICADA SEASON WE’VE HAD!

The loud calls of the males fill the air with the distinctive sounds of summer. But despite their unmistakable and familiar calling, not a lot is known about the ecological preferences and requirements that cicadas need to survive. This is where you can help! The Great Cicada Blitz is calling citizen scientists to record their cicada sightings to gain a better understanding of species’ emergence patterns and geographical distributions. Your sighting may even lead to the identification of new species!

To contribute to the project, head to the iNaturalist website or download the iNaturalist app. Once there, sign up and get an iNaturalist account (it’s free). Then you can search for “The Great Cicada Blitz” and join the project to receive updates and start uploading your sightings. However, it’s not a requirement to join the project, and you can still upload your observations, which will be collected by the Great Cicada Blitz. Your cicada sightings can be submitted in the form of photos or even audio files.

And remember, you don’t need to know what species you’re observing. If you simply label your sighting as “Cicadas”, experts can help ID it from photos and/or audio recordings.