Maria Merian (1647-1717) Maria Merian distinguished herself with paintings and prints of insects and botanical subjects drawn from life. Inspired by a curiosity about insects from an early age, she was the first to study metamorphosis extensively. She is especially noted for her work on New World butterflies, done during a two-year journey to Suriname, then a Dutch cplony. Note how she portrayed several stages of the butterfly's life cycle and its association with a particular host plant. Her work has also appeared on a pair of US stamps (below). [ Return to HSci 1814 ]