Cicada Invasion Means Turkey Boom In Kentucky

Humans may find cicadas obnoxiously loud and gross looking, but to turkeys, the bugs' buzzing is a dinner bell.

Kentucky wildlife experts believe the expected cicada swarm will help the state's struggling wild turkey population.

“Cicadas are a great source of protein for turkeys and their predators. When the turkeys eat the cicadas, they don’t have to move and search for food, so they’re not exposed to the predators either — plus the predators eat the cicadas, too, so it’s really a triple-win for turkeys," Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife turkey biologist Zak Danks told WLKY.

Predators like skunks, raccoons, and coyotes will fill up on cicadas, which makes them less likely to eat turkeys or their eggs. So there should be more birds in the summer and fall, which is good news for hunters.

"They’re important culturally, ecologically, and to hunters,” Danks said.

If there's more wild turkeys, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife expects more hunters, which means the state will sell more hunting licenses.

“We hope that they have a chance to pursue them because hunters pay for conservation in this state. The department gets zero general fund tax dollars. We're funded through fish and hunting licenses and federal matching grants," Danks said.

Billions of cicadas are expected to show up in parts of northern Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and other Midwestern states. The bugs were expected to emerge in late April and early May, but biologists believe they'll start showing in late May and early June.

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