The periodical cicadas are coming to eastern Cincinnati this May. These “bugs of history” last appeared in eastern Hamilton, Butler and Clermont counties in 1991, when they emerged in large numbers.

This year’s emergence is part of the larger emergence of Brood XIV or Brood 14, and will occur in south central Ohio, over the eastern half of Kentucky and parts of Tennessee, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. In Greater Cincinnati, the cicadas are expected to emerge in the area mostly east of I-74.

According to Gene Kritsky, Ph.D., professor of biology at the College of Mount St. Joseph, “Areas such as Milford, Terrace Park, Montgomery, Madeira, Kenwood, Loveland, Mariemont, Indian Hill, Madisonville, and Sycamore Township experienced large numbers of cicadas in 1991.”

However, Kritsky discovered that many of those areas had cicadas emerge in 2004, when the larger Brood X emerged. “We were able to document several areas where periodical cicadas emerged four years early making the 2004 emerged larger in eastern Hamilton County,” Kritsky said.

Kritsky and his students will be determining the western boundary of this year’s cicada emergence as part of a century long study of the cicadas in Cincinnati. The emergence this year will provide critical details in how the broods are related to each other. “The cicadas are slowly revealing their secrets.” Kritsky said.

Brood XIV was first reported in Ohio in 1804 when they emerged in Brown County. Georgetown has recorded them since 1855, and the oldest historical record in Cincinnati goes back to 1872. For more information about Brood XIV, go to www.msj.edu/cicada.

The College of Mount St. Joseph is an undergraduate and graduate Catholic college of 2,300 students that provides an interdisciplinary liberal arts and professional curriculum emphasizing values, service and social responsibility.