By Day GreenbergThe Daily Northwestern

Every 17 years, huge, deafening flying insects emerge from the darkness to flood the air, scream out their mating calls, reproduce and die. This year cicadas have picked Dillo Day weekend to drop in.

Cicada mania is expected to invade Northwestern’s campus tonight, just in time to cause Dillo Day mayhem. Because the bugs avoid water, Mayfest planners said the concerts at the Lakefill should go uninterrupted. But just in case, planners said they plan to hose down the trees surrounding the concert site.

“It will be hard for us to sleep, but (the cicadas) won’t disrupt production,” said Dillo Day co-producer Ben Stix, a Weinberg junior.

“It’s a slightly scary thought that there will be thousands of cicadas right before Dillo Day,” Stix said. “But it’s not like it’s locusts or anything.”

Cicadas entered U.S. records in 1633, after they were seen by Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth colony. Given the genus name Magicicada in 1925 because of their “magical” ability to suck sap from tree roots while underground, these inches-long insects can swarm in groups of millions. In 1902, they were said to disrupt a speech by President Theodore Roosevelt.

The sounds cicadas make to attract a mating partner vary depending on the species. Gene Kritsky, who runs the Web site www.cicadamania.com, described the call of the smaller ones as “shimmering.” Kritsky, a biology professor at the College of Mount St. Joseph, said the larger ones scream something that sounds like the word “pharaoh,” and a third species sounds like a rotary sprinkler.

When heard together, their call is said to sound similar to a 747 jumbo jet.

Cicada enthusiasts can be found nationwide. There are several books and Web sites dedicated to the subject.

Humans are among the large animal species that munch on the insects, along with dogs, cats, birds and squirrels. Cicada larvae are prized for their high protein content, and recipes include marinating them in Worcestershire sauce.

At a cicada exhibit that opened Friday at the Field Museum downtown, visitors can learn anything they want to know about the screeching bugs.

“It is (a) most exciting entomological happening in Chicago,” said Daniel Summers, the exhibit’s content specialist.

“(Cicadas) are totally harmless,” Summers said. “They do not bite, pinch, sting, they don’t do anything. These things are an absolute delicacy for all other forms of life.”

Summers said he thinks cicadas taste like canned asparagus when eaten raw, and their texture changes to something like shrimp when cooked.

“My favorite recipe is to barbecue them with garlic and butter,” he said. “I hope I have time to actually get out there and get some of these and I can send some off to my kids in college.”

Because the bugs stay in trees when above ground, NU students should expect to see the most cicadas in the oaks near The Arch, said biology Prof. Joseph Walsh.

Communication senior Emily Thompson said she is not worried about Dillo Day being ruined, as long as the insects keep their distance.

“I don’t care what sound they make as long as they don’t swarm around me,” she said.

Reach Day Greenberg at [email protected].