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

XXVI.

This plant is the food of a type of black caterpillar. I kept some of them in a box; by the 14th of June, they had all attached themselves to the lid and turned into pale-yellow pupae. My curiosity drove me to open one of them, which I found to be as depicted hanging from a leaf. On the 28th of the same month, butterflies emerged from them whose outer side is brown, and the inner side is beautifully colored dark orange with black and purple.

From one of these pupae, which was indeed the largest, a black, foul-smelling fly emerged, as is depicted sitting on a leaf above the pupa.

I also found maggots in the excrement of these caterpillars, which turned into black barrels pupa cases; after twelve days, flies emerged from them, as shown below.

XXVII.

On the long, hanging leaf, a small creature appears, being yellow with black dots. On the 14th of June, it attached itself to a leaf and turned into a pupa. After fifteen days, such a beetle emerged as sits on a leaf above, which then lay its eggs again on these leaves, from which young creatures subsequently emerge again.

On the lowest leaf, a brown caterpillar appears. I fed them with these leaves. On the 6th of June, it made a cocoon and stayed in it until May of the following year, when a small fly emerged from it, as depicted below.