Maria Sibylla Merian: The Insect Expert

Maria Sibylla Merian: The Insect Expert

by Caitlyn Meagher

This is an illustration by Maria Sibylla Merian in1705.

Some people may not like insects, especially when they find them in their homes or schools.
However, the study of insects reveals a lot about the environment we live in. Maria Sibylla
Merian was one of the first naturalists to study insects. A naturalist is a scientist who studies
and observes animals and plants.

Merian was born in Germany on April 2, 1647. At this time, most people thought insects were
born out of the mud. They thought insects were not worth studying.

However, Merian was different. At a young age, Merian studied painting. She was fascinated
by nature and insects. She began collecting bugs in order to study and paint them. One insect
she loved to paint was the caterpillar. She started learning about how caterpillars matured into

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 Maria Sibylla Merian: The Insect Expert

butterflies.

Merian continued to draw insects, especially caterpillars, for many years. Next to her
drawings, she wrote detailed descriptions of the insects and plants that she drew. She
published multiple books with her findings.

This is an illustration by Maria Sibylla Merian in

1705.

In 1699, Merian took her research to a new level. She funded her own expedition to
Suriname, a small country in South America. Many people did not think it was appropriate for
a woman to journey this far without a man. She did not let that stop her. Over the next two
years, Merian collected, studied, and drew illustrations of Suriname's species. She published
another book with more than 60 illustrations of Suriname plants and animals. This book was
one of the first books about the plants and animals of Suriname!

To this day, many of her drawings and descriptions are admired by modern scientists. Her
impact on the study of insects is remarkable.

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 ReadWorks Vocabulary

Vocabulary

collect
verb
definition: When you collect things, like coins or rocks, you find ones that you like and you keep
them. Every time you find another one that you like, you add it to the other ones you
have.
My brother collects old comic books and he is always looking for more to buy.
Spanish: coleccionar, juntar
forms: collected, collecting, collects

environment
noun
definition: When we talk about the environment, we often mean the natural things around all of us
as we live on our planet Earth. The environment is made up of things like the air, the
water, the plants, and the soil. We know now that we have to protect the environment.
Things like pollution cause damage to it and cause harm to animals and humans.
My family is helping to take care of the environment by recycling paper. My mom says if
we recycle paper, we won't have to cut down so many trees.
Spanish: medio ambiente

observe
verb
definition: When you observe something, you watch it carefully or look at it closely in order to find
out or learn something.
She likes to sit by the window and observe the people walking by.
The students observed the entire operation performed by the heart surgeon.
The scientists are observing the animal's behavior in its own habitat.
Spanish: observar
forms: observed, observes, observing

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Definitions and sample sentences within definitions are provided by Wordsmyth. © 2015 Wordsmyth. All rights reserved.