Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium - scan inside 1

Anna Maria Sibylla Merian (Frankfurt am Main, 2 April 1647 – Amsterdam, 13 January 1717) was a German-born artist and entomologist. She travelled to Surinam to observe for herself the metamorphosis from caterpillars to butterflies. This was an unusual endeavour for a woman at that time. Her drawings and sketches provided the source for a wonderful, big size publication on the flora and fauna in Surinam. With the help of various copperplate engravers based in Amsterdam, the book was published there in 1705. The artist and her daughters coloured many of the pictures themselves. Her main work is called Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium (Transformations of the insects of Surinam) which would later make a significant contribution to entomology.