Among insects, the appearance of the beetle came relatively late. In its life it must pass through being an egg, hatching, and being a larva, followed by repeated molting, then pupation, until it finally metamorphoses into an adult with the capability of flying. This phenomenon is known to the academic community as "holometabolism."
甲蟲是昆蟲中出現年代較晚的種類，一生必需經歷卵、孵化、幼蟲、多次蛻皮、化蛹，最後脫繭而為具有飛行能力的成蟲，學界將此過程稱之為「完全變態」。