Can you believe I found one! A Rare Blue Eyed Cicada. They are one in a million but are they worth a fortune? Rumer has it, there is a University that will pay big bucks if you catch one.
So can a rare blue-eyed cicada get you some cash, experts say that it’s untrue.
“There is an urban myth, or urban legend, that if you find a cicada with blue eyes, that you can get $1,000,” Dr. Shrewsbury said. “But that’s not true.”
Runer started from a May 2004 article in the Baltimore Sun titled “’Cicada cash’ rumor squashed.” The story reports that even though the biology department at Johns Hopkins was not offering an award for blue-eyed cicadas it was inundated with calls from people who had heard the rumor.
The rumor appears to have become elevated to the level of modern folklore, surfacing along with each new cicada emergence. This year it appears to be our turn. The rumor has hit the Nashville area hard enough for the Tennessean to take notice. In a May 31 story headlined “Vandy not paying for blue-eyed cicadas,” the paper’s website stated, “It was the talk of weekend barbecues, Twitter and Facebook – Did you know Vanderbilt University is paying $3,000 for a blue-eyed cicada?” As a result, staff at Vanderbilt’s biological sciences department report that they have gotten a number of calls. So no money value for a rare Blue Eyed Cicada.
CICADA WATCH: Check out today's cicada photos including this incredibly rare blue-eyed cicada spotted in Bright! While hard to find, they are not worth any money (contrary to internet rumors promising otherwise). #CincyWx #CicadaWatch2021 @local12 pic.twitter.com/SPWM19bxRw
— Brad Maushart (@BraaadWx) May 25, 2021