3-092-073 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Willow leaves with poplar leaf beetles, eggs and larvae, after 1679. Composed with great artistic sensibility, while at the same time striving for the utmost fidelity to nature, this drawing depicts the stages of a poplar leaf beetle's development. In the accompanying text in the Caterpillar Book, published in 1679, Merian described the mature beetles as "yellow", but coloured them bright red, in keeping with their appearance in real life.