National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveil cicada bobbleheads

Presidents, sports stars, musicians, cartoon characters — and cicadas.

The buzzing insects on Friday joined the long list of figures featured at the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.

It’s the first cicada bobblehead created by the museum, a nod to the historic double brood emergence this year of the 13-year and 17-year periodical cicadas in more than a dozen states.

The figurines exhibit the primary cicada characteristics — the bright red eyes, membranous wings and six legs — with the insect standing atop a grass-like base.

The bobbleheads are available on the hall of fame’s website for $30, plus a flat-rate $8 shipping fee per order. Orders are expected to ship in November.

“We’re excited to create this bobblehead celebrating the triumphant return of the cicada,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “The sounds of summer have taken on a new meaning in 2024 with the arrival of the popular insects.”

Illinois is a prime location for the double brood emergence, where the 17-year cicadas have inhabited the northern part of the state and the 13-year cicadas have covered the southern half. The two breeding groups have coincided for the first time since 1803.

The periodical cicadas emerged in the Chicago area in mid-May, the first time since 2007. The next brood is expected in 2041.

Cicadas shed their exoskeleton upon emergence, climb into trees and the males begin their buzzing mating call. After the cicadas mate, the females lay their eggs in branches of certain wooded plants, laying hundreds of eggs for a couple weeks before they die.

Once the new cicadas hatch as nymphs, they fall to the ground and bury themselves where they feed on tree roots for the next 17 years until they return to the surface.