The cicada larva lives underground for at least two years, during which it undergoes four more molts. Blind, it lives in isolation in cavities (food chambers) not subject to temperature variations and containing roots on the sap of which it feeds. Its strong forelegs allow the larva to dig, cut, and shovel, its middle legs serve as crutches, and its hind legs help it push. The cicada uses its urine to moisten the soil and facilitate its drilling. After drying, the murcine contained in its urine is binding and solidifies the burrows. In its 5th larval stage, before rising to the surface, the whitish blind cicada becomes a nymphoid larva with the appearance of pigmentation and the premise of vision.