While portions of Greater Cincinnati might have escaped the swarm of cicadas in 2021, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to evade the emergence and ear-piercing sound of this year’s group, Brood XIV.
This spring, Brood XIV (as in 14) cicadas will emerge in numbers around the lower billions in 13 states, including Ohio, Gene Kritsky, a biology professor at Mount Saint Joseph University, told USA TODAY.
Since Brood XIV cicadas are periodical cicadas that emerge every 17 years, the last time they were seen (or heard) was in 2008, added Kritsky, who is also the founder of the Cicada Safari app, which allows community members to upload photographs of cicadas to help map where periodical cicadas are found.
Here’s what to know.
When will cicadas emerge in Ohio in 2025?
Brood XIV cicadas will start to emerge from the ground around the second week of May and, if this spring is similar to last year’s, they will likely stay until the end of June.
Which parts of Cincinnati will see cicadas this year?
This 2025 brood will emerge in greater numbers along the I-71 corridor and eastward, Kritsky told The Enquirer.
Scattered light emergences will also likely be seen in parts of western Cincinnati. However, the area will not see the numbers experienced in 2021.
Here are the counties that will be hit the hardest:
When will a brood of cicadas emerge in Greater Cincinnati after 2025?
Another 13-year brood is expected to emerge in Brown and Clermont counties – as well as 10 other counties in Northern Kentucky – in 2027.
The region will then see cicadas in 2034 and 2038.
Which states will likely have cicadas in 2025?
States expecting cicadas this year include Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, Kritsky said.
Kentucky and Tennessee probably will get the most cicadas this year, said John Cooley, an ecology and biology associate professor in residence at the University of Connecticut. There will also be large numbers in Georgia, the Carolinas and Pennsylvania, he said.
Based on historical data and depending upon the weather, the first states to get cicadas will be southern states such as Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, said Kritsky.
There may also be cicadas in southern Indiana, he said.
Why do cicadas make noise?
Cicadas cause so much ruckus because it’s their mating tactic. The bug’s infamous, unignorable loud buzzing is from the male cicadas singing to attract females for mating.
“Adult males attract females with a mating call that he produces with his tymbals, the large convex structures found on the sides of the first abdominal segment,” Kritsky said.
Tymbals exert a clicking sound, but cicadas repeat the sound so rapidly that we hear it as a constant hum, which can be as loud as lawnmowers or leaf blowers.
What is the difference between annual and periodical cicadas?
Periodical cicada species are easily differentiated from the annual or “dog-day” cicadas of the summer based on their looks, Kritsky shares.
The various species of annual cicadas are larger than their periodical cousins and have black or greenish eyes. Their heads are also wide and flattened, unlike the periodical cicadas, whose heads are slightly rounded.
“Dog-day cicadas usually are not heard until the end of June or early July, and during years when periodical cicadas also appear, they may not overlap,” Kritsky said.
What is a cicada brood? What do their numbers mean?
Within a certain region, different cicadas sharing the same life cycle all emerge together. These groups are called “broods” and they each have their own number in Roman numerals.
For example, in 2025, a group of 17-year cicadas called Brood XIV (fourteen) will emerge across many states. This brood includes all three species of 17-year cicadas, but others may not.
What do cicadas eat?
Cicadas get all their food by drinking a watery sap (xylem) from trees. Since the insects don’t have mouths that open and close, they have straw-like tubes that they insert into trees. Baby cicadas drink from tree roots, and adults from the branches.
Contrary to popular belief, adult cicadas do not cause serious plant damage from their feeding activities, according to pest control company, Orkin. Cicadas do, however, damage plants by cutting small slits in the plant as a place to deposit their eggs.
Cicadas are attracted to several trees, such as oaks, maples, willows and ash species. But the bugs are “very opportunistic feeders” and will likely be attracted to whatever large plant is near the nymphs’ underground habitat.
Are cicadas harmful to pets or humans?
Luckily, these pesky creatures’ fatal flaw is that they’re annoying. Cicadas are not dangerous to other animals or humans as they cannot bite or sting. At worst, they can bump into people while flying.
Cicadas also do not pose a risk of hearing damage despite their ear-ringing buzzing, unless you deliberately put your ear close to them while they are singing (so maybe don’t do that).
If your pet tries to catch and eat cicadas, it’s safe, but don’t let them eat too many as the bugs’ exoskeletons can be tough to digest when uncooked. People can eat cicadas, too (and have been for a long time).
Saleen Martin of USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cicadas are coming! See when they’ll appear in Ohio (and a map of where they’ll be) here
Reporting by Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
