Park Ridge man’s cicada Facebook group amasses 27,000 members

As temperatures rise in the Chicago area, cicadas are beginning to emerge from their underground burrows. Thanks to a Park Ridge man, enthusiasts now have a platform to share photos and even swap recipes across the state.

They’re out, about, and crawling, and according to one Park Ridge man taste like boiled asparagus.

That’s one of the messages that Joel Reiser of Park Ridge is spreading about cicadas on his public Facebook group, Illinois Cicada Watch. He said the group was intended for his friends and family but has now amassed over 27,000 members. “It was really cool and stuff, and then all of a sudden it started getting a little bit more following. People were sharing, and I got more and more (followers),” he told Pioneer Press.

Reiser, a self-described nature guy, said the group has grown into spreading education about the critters, as millions are expected to come out this summer.

“We allow everybody on there because, you know, we want everybody to learn to not be afraid of something that’s just … common occurrence every 17 years,” he said.

“It’s a phenomenon, like everything else,” Reiser said, comparing it to the solar eclipse that was also visible to some degree in most of the state. “It’s over 200 years in the making,” he added, referring to the timing that two broods of cicadas, brood XIX and XIII, are emerging at the same time. Still, Chicago and most of its suburbs won’t be able to see both broods at the same time, with most of the overlap happening in central Illinois.

Reiser said he has eaten cicadas and that they have a nutty flavor when they are blanched and fried. “It’s strange; it’s accepted all over the world, except here,” he said, adding that he has eaten grasshoppers, or chapulines, in Mexico, “which kind of taste like dirt.”

He said cicada hunters will want to find cicadas in the early stages of life. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Reiser said, “They don’t bite, and there’s nothing toxic.”

Cicadas also fall in the same animal category as many shellfish, like lobster and shrimp, meaning that if a person has allergies to either, they should probably not eat them.

As for people who might still be afraid of them, Reiser said cicadas are good for yards because they bring in nutrients from the soil. “The best thing to is to leave them alone,” he said.