I had planned a camping trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. Hiking, camping, collecting, fun. My question is, are the "lords of the underworld" (brood XIV cicadas) swarming over the area, or are they expected to be there next weekend? (weekend of May 30th)

Tom, I was there this weekend, and the are just starting to make their appearance. I am sure they will be in full force over the next couple weeks.

I have always had trouble understanding why people are so worried about cicadas. The only thing they really do is make a little noise--which I enjoy. But iI guess that's northern city boys for ya.

I have always had trouble understanding why people are so worried about cicadas. The only thing they really do is make a little noise--which I enjoy. But iI guess that's northern city boys for ya.

Well, It is my girlfriend's birthday and she'd freak.
About 21 years ago I was in Bloomington Indiana (for brood X), and it was no big deal, (In fact I loved it) but I'm not so sure you understand the sheer volume of these things that came up around Cincinnati here for brood X four years ago. In some areas, they were lined up bumper to bumper on every twig, branch and trunk. If you stepped outside and used a power tool, you would have 50 crawling all over you. They had to use street sweepers to clear them off because it made the roads slick. Absolutely overwhelming.
And I'm a bug guy!

I have always had trouble understanding why people are so worried about cicadas. The only thing they really do is make a little noise--which I enjoy. But iI guess that's northern city boys for ya.

They make a LOT of noise! They also eat and lay eggs, and in the process can cause a great deal of damage to trees where their numbers are high. They sever branches and lay eggs in the breaks, and in so doing can cause a great deal of damage. I've seen large swaths of forest filled with broken branches. I've had them fly into my house, and they're quite disgusting! Of course, all bugs are disgusting, but that's another matter. Cicadas are so big, you can't just swat them like flies, at least not without getting massive amounts of bug guts splattered somewhere. Yuck! Just keep your doors and windows closed and ride it out. Then you won't have to worry about it for another 17 years (for that brood, anyway). The annual cicadas aren't so bad, since they don't exist in great numbers (at least not around here), but they still make a LOT of noise for a while every year.

I remember a fishing weekend at Shelbyville during a huge cicada invasion. The sound was deafening. The bass weren't biting but i noticed when a cicada would fall in the water a big ol' carp would rise up and strike or even eat them. I put on a small dark colored top water plug and caught tons of big carp. I also caught a lot of flack from the hard core bass guys I was with. They were too cool to enjoy what was a lot of fun that weekend.