Maria Sibylla Merian — Der rupsen begin, voedzel en wonderbaare verandering (1712)

still small, and kept it until the following year; in April it was as large as is depicted here below. Its transformation produces a beetle that is called a Moolenaar Miller; its shape is shown at the top on a leaf. They eat the young sprouts of fruit trees, which is why I have placed them on this tree.

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Hyacinth. Hyacinthus Orientalis Eastern Hyacinth.

This shaggy black caterpillar, as depicted below, eats many kinds of flowers and herbs. They are very adept at walking; if one touches them, they roll themselves into a ball like a small marble and remain lying that way for a long time. When they have reached their full growth, they make a cocoon and transform into a black pupa. After fourteen days, a small owlet-moth the term Uiltje refers to moths of the Noctuidae family, often called owlet moths due to their eye-like markings comes out of it, as sits upon the flower; its upper wings are brown and white, and the lower ones are pale red and black-spotted. They lay grayish-green eggs.
I have had such a small caterpillar, as sits upon a flower, which attached itself to a piece of wood and became hard and short, as can be seen above the large caterpillar. After ten days a black fly came out of it; there also come out flies whose abdomen is yellow, as two of them are likewise depicted here.

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Buttercups. Ranunculus dulcis Sweet Buttercup.

I have found such types of caterpillars on these flowers and fed them with them during the entire month of April. They are orange-colored on the top of the back, and light yellow underneath; furthermore, they are black and a little hairy. When one touches them, they roll themselves into a ball and remain lying for a very long time. In May they make a cocoon and transform into a brown pupa, as is depicted hanging from a leaf. After fourteen days a beautiful owlet-moth comes out of it, whose head, body, and

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