Maria Sibylla Merian's Metamorphosis

Maria Sibylla Merian was a naturalist who studied the process of Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is when an animal changes its physical appearance by undergoing a task. Maria’s job as a naturalist allowed her to witness the elements of nature. Maria observed the way caterpillars build cocoons that will later on help them transform into a butterfly. By doing this Maria drew diagrams and pictures to represent this process. Using these illustrations and diagrams she was able to describe metamorphosis in her many illustrated works. She was known for discovering a new way of showing science accurately. Maria Sibylla is in important scientist to the world of science because her family inspired her to represent the world of nature through painting,
Her first published book is called, “Caterpillars, Their Wondrous Transformation and Peculiar Nourishment from the Flower,” which explained how insects were able to complete the procedure of metamorphosis. Maria also created books with illustrations of plants and different animals called, “The new book of flowers” (“Biography of Naturalist and Artist”)“Later, she was given the opportunity to travel to South America with one of her daughters to study many different new species of plants and animals. There she was able to start a collection of books called, “The Insects of Suriname,” which explained how the insects from South America went through the stages of metamorphosis (“Dictionary of Scientific Biography”). However, while in South America, she obtained a disease known as malaria which was caused by a mosquito bite, resulting in a stroke and soon died (“Merian, Maria Sibylla”). Sadly she was not able to complete the third volume of her Suriname books, but her daughters completed it for her (“Dictionary of Scientific Biography”). As Maria completed her many books she was able to teach science in a new way which was