Field Museum adds rare blue-eyed cicada found by local family to its collection

CHICAGO - The Field Museum has added a new one-in-a-million edition to its collection – a blue-eyed cicada. 

The specimen was found by a family in the Chicago suburbs. 

Cicadas normally have red eyes, which made this one in particular stand out. 

The color change is caused by a genetic change in the insect. Museum experts said this is the first blue-eyed cicada they have ever seen, with their cicada collection dating back to more than a century. 

"The reason that they always remain really rare like this is that they're always infertile. They can't reproduce. They can't make sperm or eggs… if they could reproduce, the numbers would increase rather quickly," said a spokesperson for the museum. 

This rare cicada was actually discovered by 4-year-old Jack Bailey in Wheaton. 

He found it with his older sister, and they showed it to their mother.

The cicada will go into the museum's behind-the-scenes collection.