Bugs of Summer

Throughout the summer months spanning June through August across Hamilton County, Butler County, and adjacent territories, you will begin to notice the air becomes more alive with all things flighted and crawly. Whether traversing the trails of Sharon Woods, lounging within a Fairfield Township domestic retreat, or navigating the pathways of Winton Woods, insects integrate seamlessly into the sensory architecture of the landscape. Bolstered by empirical logging through iNaturalist alongside my own observations, here are the bugs that define a Cincinnati summer and the roles they play in the region’s ecosystems:

1. Fireflies (Lightning Bugs)

Where you’ll see them: Fairfield Township neighborhoods, Winton Woods, Voice of America Park, Miami Whitewater Forest.
Fun Facts: Their presence is a sign of healthy habitat, especially in areas with native plants and low pesticide use. In many firefly species, adult females exhibit neoteny, meaning they reach sexual maturity while retaining their larvae forms.
Peak time: June to July evenings

2. Mosquitoes

Where you’ll see them: Anywhere with standing water (birdbaths, gutters, puddles, creek edges, etc.)
Fun Facts: While annoying, they’re also a key food source for bats, swallows, and dragonflies, and only the females feed on mammal blood. The males feed on nectar and are recognizable by their larger antennae.
Peak time: All summer, especially after storms

3. Dragonflies & Damselflies

Where you’ll see them: Glenwood Gardens, Sharon Woods creek, Little Miami River, Lake Isabella
Fun Facts: Dragonflies are Cincinnati’s natural mosquito control. Damselflies, which are slimmer, more delicate cousins of the dragonfly, their presence is a sign of clean waterways, something the Little Miami River is known for.
Peak time: June to August afternoons

4. Eastern-eyed Click Beetles (Alaus oculatus)

Where you’ll see them: Around rotting logs and decaying wood in forests.
Fun Facts: Easily identified by the two large, false “eyespots” on its back.
Peak time: June to August afternoons

5. House Centipedes (Scutigera coleoptrata)

Where you’ll see them: Outdoors, they hide under leaf litter, rotting logs, and rocks. Indoors, they gravitate toward humid areas like basements, bathrooms, crawl spaces, and floor drains to hunt for pests.
Fun Facts: Despite looking frightening to most, they are perhaps the top-tier form of natural pest control available in Ohio. Due to their high metabolism they must consume several insects every single day, in comparison to most arachnids who only eat once or twice a week.
Peak time: All summer

6. Mayflies

Where you’ll see them: Along major waterways like the Ohio River, yet residents also report swarms of them gathering around gas stations as they are attracted to the immense light.
Fun Facts: These insect’s lineage stretches back more than 300 million years, older than the dinosaurs! Mayflies are sensitive to pollutants and rely on pristine environments to thrive, serving as bioindicators of clean water systems.
Peak time: July to August

7. Antlions

Where you’ll see them: In dry, protected, and sandy or powdery soil, particularly under building overhangs, near foundations, and along dry forest floors. Sharon Woods has many reported findings.
Fun Facts: While they are most notable for their larvae form with large jaws and the sand pits they make to trap ants in ode to their name, their adult forms are a lot more dainty looking almost like dragonflies despite not being closely relayed. They belong to a completely different insect group called net-winged insects.
Peak time: May to September

8. Bees & Wasps

Where you’ll see them: Pollinator gardens, backyard flowers, parks with native plantings; neighborhoods with pollinator-friendly landscaping like those near the Cincinnati Nature Center see especially high bee diversity.
Fun Facts: Bumblebees, honeybees, and native solitary bees visit coneflowers, bee balm, and black-eyed Susans in gardens across the region. Wasps, including paper wasps and yellowjackets, are also pollinators and become more noticeable in late summer but play important roles controlling caterpillars and other pests.
Peak time: All summer

9. Giant North American Millipede (Narceus americanus)

Where you’ll see them: Around rotting logs and decaying wood in forests with high humidity. Their population is incredibly abundant in the East Fork State park area.
Fun Facts: They are the largest species of millipede in North America, and are known for curling into a spiral shape when threatened. They are also capable of releasing toxins, but these are not harmful to humans, they only temporarily discolor the skin.
Peak time: All summer, especially the days after it has rained

10. Butterflies & Moths

Where you’ll see them: Cincinnati Nature Center, Ault Park, VOA Park, backyard milkweed patches
Fun Facts: Cincinnati’s parks support a wide range of butterfly species thanks to native plant restoration, including Monarch butterflies and their caterpillars. Moths, including the spectacular luna moth, appear around porch lights on warm nights. Luna moths lack mouth parts and live in their adult forms only to mate.
Peak time: June to September

11. Cicadas

Where you’ll see them: Trees in any neighborhood, forested parks, creekside trails, especially in older neighborhoods and parks like Mt. Airy Forest and Sharon Woods.
Fun Facts: As nymphs, periodical cicadas stay underground for precisely 13 or 17 years, while annual cicadas spend about 2 to 5 years beneath the soil. And if you walk underneath a swarm of cicadas and suddenly feel wetness on your head, it is likely one of them peed on you! Because they subsist on a diet of watery tree sap (xylem), they must consume up to 300 times their body weight daily to extract enough nutrients which results in frequent urination.
Peak time: July to August evenings