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Cicadas have stirred up Kentucky with their noisy summer symphony

Stories by Lexington Herald-Leader journalists, with AI summarization

This collection of stories focuses on the emergence of the Bourbon Brood cicadas in Kentucky.

In Lexington’s Veterans Park, cicadas create deafening noise, while emergence holes appear across various neighborhoods. Reports from Kirklevington Park reveal cicadas hanging on fences next to their exoskeletons, while in Richmond, they climb daylily leaves to molt. Observations of red-eyed cicadas come in from Menifee County, and their shells blanket the ground in Hartland neighborhoods.

Read the stories below.

A massive brood of periodic cicadas is expected to emerge soon in the Kansas City area for the first time in 17 years. By Noppadol Paothong

NO. 1: SCREAMING ‘BOY BANDS’ TO INVADE KENTUCKY FOR 6 WEEKS THIS SPRING. YOU CAN’T AVOID THEM

Unlike last year, Kentucky will be the epicenter of a massive insect emergence. Here’s where they’ll be concentrated. | Published March 14, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

Cicada sheds its skin in Misty Zban’s Fort Mill yard. By Misty Zban/provided

NO. 2: BILLIONS OF CICADAS TO EMERGE ACROSS KENTUCKY. SHARE YOUR SIGHTINGS OF THEM WITH US

Already spotting the odd cicada here and there? Many more on on the way. | Published May 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

An adult cicada with large red eyes perches at the top of a daylily in Menifee County. By George Campbell

NO. 3: CICADA SUMMER IS HERE. WHERE YOU’VE SEEN THEM IN KENTUCKY & WHEN TO EXPECT MORE

“They are also getting into the house and cars somehow,” one reader told us. | Published May 29, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.