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Maria Sibylla Merian was a German-Dutch entomologist, naturalist, and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to document observations about insects directly; her work established that insects have a life cycle and do not appear by spontaneous generation. Merian was a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss Merian family.
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culture · German naturalist and artist (1647–1717) · entomologist · lepidopterist · botanist · naturalist · painter · illustrator · scientific illustrator · botanical illustrator · also Maria Sibylla Merian, Maria Sibylla Merian Graf, Maria Sibylla Graffin, Sybella Marian, Maria Sibylla Graff, Graff Merian
Born 2 April 1647 · Died 13 January 1717 · Q62530
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wherein by means of an entirely new invention the origin, food and development of caterpillars, worms, butterflies, moths, flies and other such little animals, including times, places and characteristics, for naturalists, artists, and gardeners, are diligently examined, briefly described, painted from nature, engraved in copper and published independently.
“wherein by means of an entirely new invention the origin, food and development of caterpillars, worms, butterflies, moths, flies and other such little animals, including times, places and characteristics, for naturalists, artists, and gardeners, are diligently examined, briefly described, painted from nature, engraved in copper and published independently.”
MutualArt.com: Maria Sibylla Merian
The Rijksmuseum acquired one of 67 known surviving first editions of Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium
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Natural History Museum%2c London: Maria Sibylla Merian: Metamorphosis unmasked by art and science
Scroll: Maria Sibylla Merian: The 17th-century entomologist who proved that caterpillars turn to butterflies
Merian's Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium was re-published with updated scientific descriptions and, in June 2017, a symposium was held in her honour in Amsterdam
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The Daily Telegraph: Maria Sibylla Merian: Scientific illustrator honoured with Google doodle
SiliconRepublic: Maria Sibylla Merian celebrated with Google Doodle for 366th birthday
A modern research vessel named RV Maria S
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A form of a split-banded owlet butterfly Opsiphanes cassina merianae; in 1967 a subspecies of the common postman butterfly Heliconius melpomene meriana; and in 2018 a rare butterfly Catasticta sibyllae from Panamá
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Died 1717-01-13.
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Born 1647-04-02.
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