Hello Educators, the seventeen year – periodical red eyed cicada season is fast approaching. Within a couple of days, they will emerge. While gardening, I already noticed them preparing to exit their tunnels. You may wonder how to handle these insects with the children in your child care.
May 8th 2024 photo of cicada tunnels and cicada in dirt almost ready to emerge
Understanding Cicadas
These cicadas, known for their distinctive red eyes, differ from the common green cicadas seen annually. They are harmless to humans and do not bite or sting, but they play an important role in our ecosystem.
photo of a child holding a net of cicadas during Covid -19 (2020)
Cicadas spend most of their lives underground, emerging only to mate and lay eggs. They emerge from the ground usually at night when they are less likely to get eaten by their prey. Cicadas are slow walkers, and they typically walk before molting. Their main interaction with humans involves potential damage to young trees when females lay eggs in small branches. Their diet consists solely of sap from plants. According to the Morton Arboretum, you should cover young plants with nets to avoid destruction from the cicadas.
photo of a green annual cicada on a tree
Cicadas ‘ emergence benefits the environment, as they aerate the soil, and their decay provides essential nutrients back into the soil. During our outdoor class, we lifted logs, rugs, and stones to observe their tunnels, and we saw many deposits that looked like rich soil for the dirt. When they emerge, they are quieter during the daytime, but in the evening hours, you can hear their loud chorus. In my subdivision, they are loudest at dusk and then quiet at night until daytime again, and the cycle continues.
photo of a child holding a net of red cicadas nymps he caught then released during COVID -19 in 2020. These were not molted yet.
Global Presence and Local Experience
There are many different cicadas worldwide. According to a Google search, there are over 3000 cicadas worldwide. We have cicadas in Jamaica, but we don’t usually call them by that name; we call them Jimmy Long Gale / Nightening Gale and other names.
photo of the annual green cicadas
In Illinois, we learn with the green cicadas yearly. However, in 2020, I had my first experience with the red cicadas, which my son found one day while mowing the lawn. Here I am holding them—they are very beautiful.
Resilience During COVID-19
The 17-year-old cicadas are similar to the red-eyed ones that emerged in 2020 during COVID-19. Normally, the children in my childcare are fascinated by the yearly green cicadas.
photo of dead and alive cicada molts which a child gathered on the black tarp
In fact, during COVID-19, when most schools were closed many home child care remained open- I was one of the brave child care providers who provided nonstop care during those frightening days with COVID-19.
Me holding some cicadas we found while my son was mowing the lawn in 2020
During that time, we were outdoors even with masks, and the children were very resilient, brave, and adaptable. We enjoyed learning about these insects that were popping out of our grass unmolted. They provided some relief from the doom and gloom that surrounded us at that time. It was also a very good distraction for the children who were overwhelmed with the news and their withdrawal from friends and families. Though we lost loved ones along the way, we channeled through that fear with resilience, hope, stamina and sincere gratitude.
children with un-molted cicada collection during COVID-19 – 2020
Encouraging Gentle Interaction
Facilitate their learning inquiry, teach them to be careful when handling insects, respect them, and not pull, tear, or dissect them. I usually help my children use soft, gentle hands when holding insects. Insects may be novel to babies, and they may engage with intensity and a stronger curiosity. Some may think they hurt the insects, but I don’t allow it to go to that level. How do you want the bug to feel? How do you think they are feeling? With infants usually I gently stroke their hands and say soft, soft demonstrating a slow movement on my hands and theirs – you can use wool or feather while conditioning the infants to use soft gentle hands. The hand over hand method works also – you place your hand over theirs and with slow intentional stroking movements you demonstrate soft and gentle hands.
photo of a baby watching the red cicadas in the grass during COVID 19 – 2020
Tools to Help Apprehensive Educators
I advise using this season of cicada invasion as a teachable moment. Try not to transfer your fear to the children. If you are comfortable with insects, consider allowing your children to investigate without stopping them. Here are some ways you can create learning opportunities for the children.
photo of a bug cather we use to observe insects – it is holding a dead cricket.
- Use gloved hands. Gloves on your hands will give you a protective layer physically and mentally—it is different from holding the insect in your bare hand. For example, my daughter holds worms only when using her garden gloves. Some children engage in messy play activities only when wearing gloves.
- Bug catchers help the children place these insects in for catch, release, and observations.
- Nets – are great for catching these insects.
- Containers—like bug catcher or any other container—are great for kids to use. Baskets, cardboard boxes, apple sauce containers, and old flower pots are also great.
- Sieves – if you do not have a bug net, consider your kitchen sieves
- Have an outdoor hand – washing station. I recycle my laundy soap container (the one with a spout) – rinse it well, then fill it with water, hand soap and some tea tree oil.
- Invite the families to learn alongside you, share your excitement with the families and let them know how much the children are interested in learning about these insects.
- Take it slow – plan your days and give yourself time outdoors to learn with all it affords us.
Cicadas will be in large numbers depending on your location, so use some of the above tools. Fill your toolbox with steps to help you and the children handle the cicadas without feeling overwhelmed.
photo of a child allowing the cicadas to crawl on his feet
Remember, if you are afraid of insects, please tell the children you are feeling brave but will need their help. We are educators; we help children be brave, and they can encourage us to be brave—lean on them, just as we give them space to lean on us.
Learning Activities
Your children may be curious about cicadas’ bodies, and you can help them learn by creating activities around cicada anatomy, such as studying their transparent wings and life cycles.
photo of materials educators can use to enhance the childrens learning – includes magnifying glasses, net, bug catchers
- Have magnifying glasses available for them
- Cicadas’ transparent wings are extremely beautiful. The green wings are usually larger than the red-eyed cicada wings, but both wings show their veins and membranes.
- Have charts about their life cycle, which will help them learn about the metamorphosis.
- Include journals for their logs, listen to their inquiry, and journal their questions.
- Have a summer collection jar where the children add cicada shells, dead insects, feathers, dried bark, and pods—their treasures.
- Children can document cicadas with art. Invite them to draw what they see—this can help them observe the cicadas closely. Here is an example of a cicada my four-year-old drew, and she added the ‘whiskers‘. Though we discuss the cicada, she is not yet using the word antennae—she describes that part as whiskers.
photo of a cicada drawn by a four year old using charcoal pencil
Resources for Educators
I have added some websites with printables you can use with the children during their inquiry. To further enrich your program, consider these resources:
- Outdoor School Shop: This free ebook includes facts about cicadas, a life cycle chart, outdoor activities, and an observational journal.
- Nature Field Guide – Annual Cicadas
- Nature Field Guide Periodical Cicadas
- Britanica Cicada facts and drawings
Conclusion: Embrace the Natural World
Educators can use occurrences like the cicada emergence to inspire awe, wonder, curiosity, and hands-on learning. Encourage the children to respect and care for these creatures without harm. These cicadas are here for a brief visit and mean no harm – as part of their life cycle, they emerge, mate, lay eggs, go underground, and emerge years later. Help children foster a lifelong curiosity for nature and what’s around us – make the most of this cicada season as a dynamic, live classroom buzzing with opportunities. This season affords many outdoor l learning opportunities.
children in our outdoor classroom learnining with bugs and cicadas under the rocks and tree stumps
I would love to hear how you interacted with these periodicals.
Until next time, I am Miss Sue, your educator walking alongside you.
