Thebutterflyisholometabolousinsects,itslifehasfourdistinctdevelopmentalstages:(1)theeggstage(embryonicperiod);
(2)thelarvalstage(growthperiod);
(3)thepupalstage(period);
(4)theadultstage(sexualperiod).
Afterthreestagesofdevelopmentarecollectivelyreferredtoasthepostembryonicdevelopment.Thefourdevelopmentalstagesofthebody,fromthemorphologicalpointofview,nothingincommon.Therefore,mustpassthroughthesystemorcontinuousobservation,canunderstanditisaspeciesoffourdevelopmentalstages.
Thefourdevelopmentstagesofgoroundandbeginagain,formingacircleoflife,alsocalledageneration.Butterflytocompletealifetime,short,shortseveraldays(suchasPierisrapae),betternearlythreeyears(RudongNorthParnassius).Intheyearbetweenthenumberofgenerations,oftenduetoBabesiaspecieshavedifferent.Ayearofonegeneration(suchastheChinesetigerswallowtail);therearemanygenerations(suchasPierisrapae),itsnumberofgenerationsoftenwiththetemperaturearoundthelevelaredifferent,theyareinHeilongjiangforoneyearonly23generationsinGuangdong,butcanbeupto56generations.Asforgenerationsisnamed,sincethebeginningoftheyear,andattheendoftheyear,arecalledthefirstgeneration,secondgeneration......Andsoon.Inaddition,thereareseasonalandnaminggeneration,forexample:adultemergenceinthespringcalledspringgenerationadultemergenceinthesummer,calledSummergenerations.