Thinking of coming to Chicago? I wouldnt do it on May 22!

If you don't know what a cicada is, you are a truly lucky person. They are coming to Chicago - soon - and it promises to be a sight right out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie :( 17-Year Cicadas Coming In 17 Days
Noise Level Will Be Higher Than Jet Engines Near O'Hare

(AP) CHICAGO According to one insect researcher, Tuesday, May 22 will probably be the big day for 17-year cicadas in the Chicago area.

Cincinnati entomologist Gene Kritsky says a formula he has worked out involving soil temperature shows the majority of the cicadas will be emerging on the evening of May 21 and the early morning hours of the 22nd.

Those particular cicadas spend about 17 years underground, feeding on tree roots. A few weeks before emerging, the nymphs construct exit tunnels to the surface. Authorities at the Morton Arboretum say they have already noticed dirt from those tunnels in areas around Chicago.

At the height of the cicada infestation the noise level of their mating calls in some residential neighborhoods is expected to be higher than that of the jet engines in some Chicago suburbs surrounding O'Hare International Airport.

May 5, 2007 6:47 am US/Central CBS2 Chicago