He's the Frank Sinatra of cicadas, not because of his singing but because he's got those Ol' Blue Eyes. Discovered in a Downers Grove backyard Friday by 6-year-old Nicholas Wagner, the cicada is "one in a million," according to one expert."Of course, there are hundreds of millions of cicadas," added Gene Kritsky, author of Periodical Cicadas: The Plague and the Puzzle. While most of the 17-year cicadas in full buzz now have red orbs, an occasional genetic hiccup produces the blue-eyed variety, he said.Nicholas, after learning about the blue-eyed version in his kindergarten class, told his parents, Mark and Maria Wagner, he was going to capture one. Friday morning, he yelled, "Mommy, I found a blue-eyed cicada!" said his mother.
"He's been looking for a long time," she said, adding that the family has turned the cicada emergence into a kind of ongoing nature lesson.Kritsky said it's unknown whether the blue-eyed cicadas see any differently than the usual red-eyed buggers. He recommended that the Wagners enjoy the insect -- which is in a netted cage on the family's deck -- while they can.When the blue-eyed bugs die, their eyes usually turn black, Kritsky said.
