Overview
The Flowering of Ecology presents an English translation of Maria Sibylla Merian’s 1679 ‘caterpillar’ book, Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung und sonderbare Blumen–Nahrung. Her processes in making the book and an analysis of its scientific content are presented in a historical context. Merian raised insects for five decades, recording the food plants, behavior and ecology of roughly 300 species. Her most influential invention was an 'ecological' composition in which the metamorphic cycles of insects (usually moths and butterflies) were arrayed around plants that served as food for the caterpillars. Kay Etheridge analyzes the 1679 caterpillar book from the viewpoint of a biologist, arguing that Merian’s study of insect interactions with plants, the first of its kind, was a formative contribution to natural history. Read Kay Etheridge’s blogpost on “Art Herstory”. See inside the book.
Full Product Details
Author: Kay Etheridge
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Volume: 3
Weight: 0.849kg
ISBN: 9789004284791
ISBN 10: 9004284796
Pages: 386
Publication Date: 11 December 2020
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
"It is hard to choose between superlatives with which to characterize this modestly sized but highly significant volume. Focusing on one of best-known names in the history of natural history at the turn of the eighteenth century, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717), it demonstrates that even the esteem in which she has been held fails to recognize the extent of her originality. Arthur MacGregor, Archives of Natural History 49.1 (2022): 224 ""Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty. General readers."" --A. L. Jacobsen (California State University, Bakersfield ), June 2022 issue of CHOICE ""[...] after years of distortion, in the past few decades, her real contributions to entomology have started to come into view. The Flowering of Ecology: Maria Sibylla Merian’s Caterpillar Book by Kay Etheridge, with translations by Michael Ritterson, is a significant contribution to this effort."" --Kim Todd (University of Minnesota), EMW Vol. 16 No. 2 • Spring 2022, 351-353"
It is hard to choose between superlatives with which to characterize this modestly sized but highly significant volume. Focusing on one of best-known names in the history of natural history at the turn of the eighteenth century, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), it demonstrates that even the esteem in which she has been held fails to recognize the extent of her originality. Arthur MacGregor, Archives of Natural History 49.1 (2022): 224 Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students and faculty. General readers. --A. L. Jacobsen (California State University, Bakersfield ), June 2022 issue of CHOICE [...] after years of distortion, in the past few decades, her real contributions to entomology have started to come into view. The Flowering of Ecology: Maria Sibylla Merian's Caterpillar Book by Kay Etheridge, with translations by Michael Ritterson, is a significant contribution to this effort. --Kim Todd (University of Minnesota), EMW Vol. 16 No. 2 * Spring 2022, 351-353
Author Information
Kay Etheridge Ph.D. (1986), University of Florida, is a Professor of Biology at Gettysburg College. She has published articles and book chapters on physiological ecology and on the influence of images in the history of biology.
