4-year-old finds ‘one in a million’ cicada — but family let it go. Then search was on

Greta Bailey knew her 4-year-old son’s cicada discovery was quite the find — but it wasn’t until after the family released it that they realized just how “rare” it was.

So the search was on for the blue-eyed cicada, an insect the Field Museum in Chicago describes as being “one in a million.”

Jack Bailey’s discovery came as trillions of cicadas are emerging in the U.S. The invasion of the two cicada broods — Brood XIX and Brood XIII — is being referred to as “cicada-geddon” by University of Connecticut cicada expert John Cooley, according to The Associated Press.

Jack, of Wheaton, Illinois, “has been in heaven” since the cicadas’ emergence, collecting many of them, his mother said.

“My daughter, Caroline, looked into his collection bucket and saw the blue-eyed one. She brought it inside and showed it to me,” Greta Bailey said, according to a May 21 Field Museum news release. “I thought it was cool and unique and had not heard that blue-eyed cicadas even existed. I took a few pictures and Caroline let it go. Well, after telling my family about it, we came to find out how rare they are and were kicking ourselves for not keeping it.”

So then, Caroline and her twin sister, Addison, went back to the yard to find the bug. Equipped with flashlights, they somehow were able to locate the tiny creature again.

“Now we knew to not let it go,” the mother said.

Cicadas usually have bright orange-red eyes. But only “a precious few,” according to the Field Museum, have blue eyes.

The Baileys learned the Field Museum was interested in blue-eyed cicadas, so Greta Bailey contacted the museum’s research and collections department.

It is now set to go in display at the museum. The Field Museum said the cicada will also serve a scientific purpose.

“Since blue-eyed cicadas are very rare, the Field Museum’s scientists will try to sequence its DNA to potentially learn more about the genes responsible for its blue eyes,” the museum said.

With so many cicadas emerging at once, a “one in a million” find is happening more than once — even in the Chicago area.

Kelly Simkins discovered a similar blue-eyed cicada in Orland Park, she shared on Facebook on May 20.

“Everyone’s very interested in the cicada. People that I thought weren’t interested in cicadas, thought they were gross, now they’re very interested. They think he’s cute,” Simkins told People.

Wheaton is about a 30-mile drive west from Chicago.

This story was originally published May 23, 2024 at 7:41 AM with the headline "4-year-old finds ‘one in a million’ cicada — but family let it go. Then search was on."