Today would have been the 366th birthday of Maria SIBYLLA Merian. I love that the day after we talk about the Sibyls in class, I open up my home browser (Google) and it tells me that today is the birthday of a woman with"sibyl" in her name!!
She was what Wikipedia calls, "A Swiss naturalist and scientific illustrator" in the late 1600's. Born in Frankfurt, she was influenced by her step-father to learn to draw and paint, and she was fascinated by bugs and insects, particularly the butterfly. Too quote them directly, she is known for, "her careful observations and documentation of the metamorphosis of the butterfly."
Metamorphosis.
Also known as a botanical artist, Merian worked in Suriname traveling around the local colonies, documenting and painting the plant and animal life. When she returned home, she sold her specimens and she published a book called Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium.
The fact that she studied insects at all is pretty amazing, because they were often referred to as "the Beasts of the Devil" (which may or may not be true - thanks for making us doubt you Wiki) in that time and because of this, not many people knew anything about the transformations many of them undergo.
What an awesome woman.
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