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.