It is International Women's Day - time to celebrate women in Science. I often think about this book Summer Birds and then I searched my blog the other day and realised I hadn't actually talked about it here. Unfortunately, Summer Birds was published in 2010 so you may have to hunt out a copy in a library.
Reading this book several years ago was a revelation. People used to think butterflies came out of the mud in the summer - like magic. Maria Merian, from a very young age, was a curious girl. She collected butterflies and caterpillars but she had to do this in secret because in the 1650s she could have been accused of witchcraft.
Maria observed that caterpillars come from eggs. These are eggs laid by summer birds (butterflies). Caterpillars eat leaves and grow bigger and bigger. Eventually the caterpillars spin cocoons. Then comes the complex part. Inside the cocoon, while they rest, the caterpillars turn into butterflies and then they come out of their cocoon ready to fly and sip nectar. Maria also noticed a change like this with frogs and tadpoles.
"When people understand the life cycles of creatures that change forms, they will stop calling small animals evil. They will learn, as I have, by seeing a wingless caterpillar turn into a flying summer bird."
About Maria Merian (1647 - 1717) born in Frankfurt, Germany died in Amsterdam:
"At the age of thirteen, Maria was well on her way to disproving the ancient theory (that butterflies came from mud). By careful observation she discovered that metamorphosis is natural, not supernatural. There was no witchcraft involved. Beginning with silkworms brought from Asia by a merchant, she watched the slow process of change, recording every detail in her notes and sketches ... Today as a result of Maria Sibylla Merian's careful studies, we know that butterflies, moths, and frogs do not spring from mud."
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. Britannica
Read more and see her art here:
Royal Society video (4 minutes)
The Conversation (Background reading for teachers)
Here is another book about Maria Merian written for children:
Perhaps you have some books from the Little People Big Dreams series in your library. I would love to see a book in this series about Maria Merian. Here are some other women scientists to explore:
Using Summer Birds as a jumping off point I highly recommend the verse novels written by Margarita Engle. AND every library should have one or two books illustrated by Julie Paschkis - her art is incredibly special.
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