These Indiana Cities May be Overrun By Cicadas This Year

Indiana is not ground zero for cicada sightings this year, but there will be some emerging in the southern part of the state. About 14 Indiana counties will see Brood XIV cicadas, along with the usual annual cicadas. Find out the details, including which cities are predicted to have the biggest emergence in Indiana.

How Are Periodocial Cicadas Different From Annual Cicadas?

The U.S. is home to two types of cicadas, annual and periodical. Annual cicadas are the ones you hear every summer singing in the trees in mid-to-late summer. Periodical cicadas have a longer time underground than annual cicadas. They live underground as nymphs for 13 or 17 years, emerging from holes in the ground and then molting into adults.

Periodical cicadas can be identified by their red eyes. They are also slightly smaller than annual cicadas. But you will know the periodical cicadas have arrived by the vast numbers of them and the noise of their mating calls. They also emerge in early summer, coming out in May or June.

What is Brood XIV?

Scientists have named the grouping of the timing of when periodical cicadas emerge by brood number. There are three broods of cicadas with a 13-year life cycle. The other 12 broods emerge every 17 years. Each brood is designated with a Roman numeral. For example, the first brood observed (Brood I) was recorded for the first time emerging in 1893. Brood I has emerged every 17 years since that time.

Brood XIV is the group of cicadas set to emerge in 2025. The last time they were out of the ground was in 2008. They will begin to climb out of the ground when the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit. The states with the largest population of Brood XIV include Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, although they are expected to return to 13 states.

Which Indiana Cities Are Predicted to Have the Largest Sightings?

Cities in the south of the state are likely to see the most cicadas in 2025. Some cities that may have big populations of cicadas include Columbus, Jasper, New Albany, and Marion.

Although cicadas may emerge outside of the following counties, according to WTHR, these are the counties where they are most likely to appear:

• Bartholomew
• Brown
• Crawford
• Dearborn
• Dubois
• Floyd
• Fountain
• Franklin
• Grant
• Harrison
• Perry
• Putnam
• Ripley
• Washington

When Will Cicadas Emerge in Indiana?

As of this writing, the cicadas are likely to begin emerging soon in Indiana. Once the soil temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit, the nymphs should begin to climb out of their underground tunnels. There are various maps online to help you track soil temperature.

One of the best ways to keep track of when cicadas will be in your area is through online trackers. Citizens can report sightings of cicadas in their area and see where other sightings are occurring. Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati has created a free app called Cicada Safari that you can download from the Apple App Store or on Google Play.

A current check of Cicada Safari shows that as of mid-May, there have yet to be cicada sightings in Indiana. Sightings are appearing to the south in Tennessee and Kentucky. One telltale way to know if the cicadas have emerged is by looking around the perimeter of large trees. The cicada nymphs will make holes as they climb out of the ground, which will be easy to spot in areas where many are emerging.

Periodical Cicadas Are Noisy

Even if you miss the holes in the ground and you don’t follow an online tracker, you will know when Brood XIV has emerged by the noise. First of all, the sheer numbers of them make the periodical cicadas noisier than their annual counterparts. The sound you hear is the males calling out for a mate. They do this by using organs in their abdomen called tymbals. Cicadas sing by contracting and relaxing the tymbal muscles.

In the past, people have recorded periodical cicadas as getting as loud as 90 to 100 decibels. That’s right up there with the sound level of hair dryers, blenders, power tools, motorcycles, and hand dryers. However, it gets the loudest near the trees where the cicadas are, so if you are some distance away, the sound will lessen.

Are Periodical Cicadas Harmful or Beneficial?

Overall, cicadas are beneficial to the environment. They provide an extra protein snack for birds and other animals. If pet dogs eat a few cicadas, it shouldn’t cause any harm. However, if your dog eats a large amount of the insects, they may have some stomach upset. They also can choke on the hard exoskeleton, and they may end up eating pesticides from the insect. If you notice your pooch has been ingesting cicadas in large numbers, you may want to call your vet.

Cicadas don’t do much damage to plants, although they can harm young trees. If you have new trees, you can cover them with tree nets before the cicadas emerge. Otherwise, cicadas are known to aerate the soil and prune older trees. When they die, their bodies add nitrogen to the soil for plants and trees.