Dissertation on the Generation and Metamorphosis of Surinamese Insects, Plate 10
1726
Maria Sibylla Merian was a scientific rockstar who sailed to Suriname in 1699 just to study bugs, a wild move for a woman of her time. In this intricate engraving from her famous book on Surinamese insects, a tropical plant—likely a cotton plant—teems with life. Fuzzy caterpillars munch on the stems and leaves, eventually transforming into the beautiful moth fluttering at the bottom left. Merian was one of the first Europeans to document metamorphosis directly from nature, proving insects didn't just spontaneously generate from mud like people used to think!
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- Engraving
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- Paper