Underground, the cicada larvae and nymphs dig tunnels in search of roots, the sap of which they suck up using their rostrum. Once these roots have been found, they build a dining room lodge in which they take all their meals. The abundant sap of the roots provides them with the energy necessary for their growth marked by numerous molts accompanied by a change in size and the gradual appearance of new characteristics. In the open air, the adult cicadas use this same rostrum to pierce the bark of branches and take sap from the trees.