Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717).

Born 369 years ago, Maria Sibylla Merian was an exceptional woman for her times. A naturalist and artist par excellence, she studied the relatively ignored area of insect metamorphosis, drawing intensely detailed and accurate portraits of insects feeding on host plants at different stages of their life cycle. In 1699, she travelled fromHolland to Surinam, spending two years there, and returned with material for a large volume on tropical insects and plants. In recent times, there has been a great resurgence of interest in Merian's work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]