Maria Sibylla Merian who is a very important figure in field of zoology was born in 1647, She has this interest in microscopic insects that gave way to her discoveries of the life cycle of these microscopic insects. This Zoologist lived in the middle of the scientific revolution in Europe were people view the world differently and more closely, and has been asking questions regarding of what they have seen, questions that had been answered by the invention of microscopes.
According to the writer the European explorers have been discovering a lot of things, from people, places, plants and animals of the smallest kinds including microscopic insects. The microscope was first used to discover the microscopic world of insects and their parts. It was then further enhanced when embryology was introduced and when people has been trying to find out how an egg developed into a chicken and a caterpillar to butterfly, such wonders enhanced the thinking skills and questioning skills of those people. Learned people were doing the first experiments to discover whether microscopic insects and other animals really took place through continuous production. It was then recognized for the first time that the there are various stages of an insect’s life such as: egg, larva, pupa, and adult which show metamorphosis in every stage. The wonders of these microscopic insects are seen under stereo microscopes.
Biologists today should be thankful to these geniuses who went to certain extent in discovering things that are very useful in the world we are living in today, The Father of entomology Jan Swammerdam, Father of Modern Science Robert Hooke, Antony van Leeuwenhoek the father of microbiology, Francesco Redi known as the father of biological experimentation, Marcello Malphigi the father of comparative physiology and microscopic anatomy. These scientists have great contribution to the innovation of science and technology.
Merian, however did not share the same fame as the scientists mentioned previously though she is considered as the mother of ecology, she maintained a low profile.
She has go beyond her limits by doing research on microscopic insects in a foreign country.
After a few years, she was married to an artist and this gave way to her artistic freedom to learn how to paint by using the watercolors, while during her time, women are prohibited to paint using oils and unusual access to books and conversations about the new scientific ideas twirling around Europe’s intellectual capitals.
She did not consider these limits as her hindrance in discovering things, she still continue to generate new ideas about microscopic insects and metamorphosis, and after a few years she were able to recognized and painted the life stages of moths and butterflies in the gardens and backyards of her several homes. She was able to observe larvae into her kitchen until they mature into adult insects. She was also able to observe the transformation of a moth into a beautiful butterfly.
Merian confirms in her new invention that a microscopic insect is considered as a member of a community. Caterpillars have a rest on the plants they ate. Pupae, cocoons, and adults then appeared. Adults were laying eggs on a plant. Merian in spite of everything continued to study and paint insect life stages and histories and her book was highly praised.
Merian continued to study and illustrate insects and plants even at the age of 52. After two years, she discovered Surinam’s flora and fauna, and keep on working in her garden as well as in the rainforest.
Merian was the first to describe and paint a bird-eating spider with a bird in its web through her observation. Her book preserved her reputation as a primary natural historian throughout the 1700s. From that time, she was often mentioned in the scientific literature. Merian’s is an amazing woman who contributed a lot in the world of biology; she has opened a gateway to microscopic insects’ world.