Cicada map 2024: Broods XIII and XIX emerge in Ohio vacationer hotspots (2024)

It's not necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but it doesn't happen often. It's typically more than a decade between times when periodical cicadas emerge in full force in many portions of the country.

They're out now in nearly 20 U.S. states across the Southeast and Midwest.

These 17 states, which range from Oklahoma to Wisconsin to North Carolina and more, are seeing the trillions of cicadas emerging this year in a rare, double brood event.

The two broods this year, the 13-year Brood XIX located mainly in the Southeast and the 17-year Brood XIII in the Midwest, have not emerged together in 221 years and are not expected to do so again until 2245.

Thanks to warm soil temperatures and ideal conditions, cicadas from both broods have already made their way above ground and the emergence is already in full swing.

Here's where you can find cicadas above ground this year.

What do cicadas eat? Lifecycle, diet and biting habits explained

2024 cicada map: Check out where Broods XIII, XIX are projected to emerge

The two cicada broods were projected to emerge in a combined 17 states across the South and Midwest. They emerge once the soil eight inches underground reaches 64 degrees, beginning in many states in April and May and lasting through late June.

The two broodslast emerged together in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president.

Traveling from Ohio or Northern Kentucky this summer? You may see cicadas

Are you an Ohio or Kentucky resident traveling to places like middle Tennessee or western North Carolina? Well then, be on the lookout for cicadas.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, both less than 300 miles from Cincinnati and under 400 miles from Columbus, are Ohio vacationer hotspots where cicadas are above ground this spring.

If you're eyeing a Lake Michigan getaway, you're likely to share the beach with some 17-year cicadas.

New Buffalo in Southwest Michigan, which is less than 300 miles from Columbus and Cincinnati and slightly more than 300 miles from Akron, has cicadas.

Likewise for Indiana Dunes in Northern Indiana — also less than 300 miles from Columbus and Cincinnati and a little over 300 miles from Akron. Northern Illinois, including the Chicago area, are also expected to experience 17-year cicadas this year.

Where are the cicadas in 2024? App developed in Cincinnati tracks sightings

Adult periodical cicadas from Brood XIX are out in full force in states across the Midwest and Southeast, according toCicada Safari, a cicada tracking app developed by Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

App users have spotted them in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, southern Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Brood XIII has emerged in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana. The Chicago area and around central and northern Illinois and downstate areas around the cities of Peoria and Champaign are experiencing cicada mania, according to the tracking service.

Does Ohio have cicadas?

Ohio isnotin the path of the two broods appearing across much of the Southeast and Midwest, according to the University of Connecticut. However, you might still spot either brood this spring as "some stragglers may pop up in the southwest of the state," according to Ohio State University'sBuckeye Environmental Horticulture Team.

Parts of southern and southwest Ohio will see the emergence of Brood XIV cicadas in 2025, per OSU's Buckeye Environmental Horticulture Team.

Confusingly, Brood XIII emerges every 17 years while Brook XIX resurfaces every 13 years, according to theUniversity of Illinois.

Will cicadas emerging this year fly to Ohio?

Ohio is not expected to see an onslaught of periodical cicadas from either Brood XIX or XIII, but some neighboring states will.

So will the cicadas be able to fly to Ohio? That's unlikely for two reasons.

First, cicadas are clumsy flyers, and their wings are not suitable for long distance travel, according toScience News Explores.

Plus, periodical cicadas emerge only to molt, breed, lay eggs and die, all within a few weeks. They don't spend time looking for new territory. Cicadas typically fly less than half a mile from the spot where they emerge, according to the University of Illinois. So, 17-year cicadas from Abraham Lincoln's day have spread roughly five miles total.

What is a brood?

According to theUniversity of Connecticut, broods are classified as "all periodical cicadas of the same life cycle type that emerge in a given year."

A brood of cicadas is made up of different species of the insect that have separate evolutionary histories. These species may have joined the brood at different times or from different sources. These distinct species are lumped together under the brood because they are in the same region and emerge on a common schedule.

How long will the cicadas be above ground?

How long cicadas live depends on their brood and if they are an annual or periodical species.

The two periodical broods this summer are Brood XIX, which has a 13-year life cycle, and Brood XIII, which has a 17-year life cycle.

Once male and female periodical cicadas have mated and the latter has laid its eggs, the insects will die after spending only a few weeks above ground − anywhere from three to six weeks after first emerging.

That means many of this year's periodical cicadas are set to die in June, though some could die off in late May or July, depending on when they emerged.

The nymphs of annual cicadas remain underground fortwo to five years, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation. These cicadas are called "annual" because some members of the species emerge as adults each year.

Why do cicadas make so much noise?

You'll have to thank the male cicadas for all that screeching. Male cicadas synchronize their calls and produce congregational songs, according toBritannica, which establish territory and attract females. There is also a courting call before mating.

The periodical 13-year and 17-year brood cicadasare the loudest, partially because of the sheer number of them that emerge at once.