[puzzlingcaptcha]

There are some other examples like that in biology, my favourite being 13- and 17-year periodic cicadas [1] with one theory being that a prime number was selected for during evolution to make it more difficult to synchronize with predator life cycles.

Counters in biology are also a thing, for example Hayflick limit [2] which is a number of times a single cell can divide before it dies (partially explained by telomere shortening due to particularities of replication of the lagging DNA strand 3). What is interesting here is that plants from the same clone grown in different climates likely grow at different rates so the counter must be decoupled from cell division. Perhaps accumulation of some metabolite that adds up every season triggers it at some threshold?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodical_cicadas [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayflick_limit [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telomere#Shortening

[jansan]

I thought that circadas thing was made up for the series Silicon Valley:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxh2X6NjuhY

[scott_s]

It was not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodical_cicadas

[wbl]

Coming from NJ I can safely say cicadeads are not made up.

[komali2]

I promise I am not trying to be an asshole here - is there some joke I'm missing about both of your spelling of cicadas?

[Terretta]

In southeastern seaboard US states, some folks called them cicadas, some called them katydids, and some got the syllables confused and said things like katydeads or similar. Some people claimed the name depended on where you’re from.

But they’re not the same:

https://zippyfacts.com/what-is-the-difference-between-katydi...

[wbl]

I had thought Cicadiads are the waves of cicadas. Turns out people say brood.

[sdenton4]

I imagine its just that cicadas - when they finally show up by the millions - also die by the millions, and leave little crunchy carcasses EVERYWHERE.

[sdrg822]

I also have been wondering whether I am out of the loop on some joke...

[mmanfrin]

Even if it were made up, that bit of lore has been around much longer than the show.

[teej]

Life was loud and very buggy in 2004 when Brood X emerged on the east coast US.

[JudgeWapner]

[4] https://www.barrierreef.org/the-reef/the-facts/creature-feat...