centro cultural tina modotti Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium
Maria Sibylla Merian (born April 1647, Frankfurt am Main, Germany —died, 1717, Amsterdam, Netherlands), was a German-born naturalist and nature artist known for her illustrations of insects and plants.
In 1699 Merian and her daughter Dorothea Maria set sail for a projected five-year-long expedition to Suriname, located on the northern coast of South America.
The voyage afforded Merian a unique opportunity to explore new species of insects and plants. The two women settled in at Paramaribo and together collected, studied, and composed illustrations of the jungle’s plants, insects, and other animals.
After less than two years, however, illness forced Merian to return to Amsterdam.
In 1705 she published Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium (“The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname”).
Arguably the most important work of her career, it included some 60 engravings illustrating the different stages of development that she had observed in Suriname’s insects.
Similar to her caterpillar book, Metamorphosis depicted the insects on and around their host plants and included text describing each stage of development. The book was one of the first illustrated accounts of the natural history of Suriname.
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immagine: Maria Sybilla Merian, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, 1705
Maria Sibylla Merian (Fráncfort, 2 de abril de 1647-Ámsterdam, 13 de enero de 1717) fue una científica precursora de la entomología, naturalista, exploradora, ilustradora científica y pintora alemana, de padres suizos.
Aunque ignorada durante mucho tiempo, es considerada actualmente como una de las más importantes iniciadoras de la entomología moderna, gracias a sus detalladas observaciones y descripciones, con ilustraciones propias, de la metamorfosis de las mariposas.
Actualmente la especie Catasticta sibyllae, lepidóptera de Panamá recientemente descrita, lleva su nombre en honor a los aportes de Maria Sibylla Merian para la entomología neotropical … siga leyendo Wikipedia