Wisconsin DNR asks people to stop taking cicadas from its parks
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is reminding visitors that it is illegal to remove insects from state parks after reports of people harvesting cicadas.
The department says it has received multiple reports of people taking cicadas home with them from Big Foot Beach State Park in southern Wisconsin.
State law prohibits capturing and removing animals, including insects, from state park properties, the Wisconsin DNR advised in a press release.
State park staff and wardens are instructed to educate the public on cicadas, according to the DNR. However, wardens may take enforcement action in response to any violations.
The Wisconsin DNR is asking anyone aware of similar incidents at other state parks to report them to the department's violation hotline online or by texting 1-800-847-9367.
The warning comes as cicadas are returning in swarms with two different broods coming out from the ground simultaneously.
One brood emerges every 13 years, while the other appears every 17. This year, cicadas from both groups — Brood XIX and Brood XIII, specifically — are set to show up in historic numbers.
Brood XIX cicadas are found in Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
Brood XIII cicadas are seen in the Midwest, primarily Illinois and Iowa.