Maria Sibylla Merian, age 52, in 1699, more than a century before Charles Darwin explored the Galapagos, she set sail for a projected 5 year expedition to Suriname, the northern coast of South America.
The voyage afforded Merian a unique opportunity to explore new species of insects and plants. She changed how the human world understood the insect world. Her floral paintings were exact and most often included insects such as the one here.