Two blue morpho butterflies and a spiny caterpillar on a leafy branch with red cherries and small pink blossoms, in an antique hand-coloured plate.

A small leafy branch with red cherries and a blue morpho butterfly, an antique hand-coloured natural-history illustration. — Inside: four of your photos stand up below this, with your note.

No. 14 of 248 · The Natural History Series

Cherries and Blue Morphos

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Two blue morpho butterflies and a spiny caterpillar gather on a fruiting cherry branch in this hand-coloured plate by Maria Sibylla Merian from 1705. Merian sailed to Suriname at 52 to draw insects with the plants they feed on, and she was among the first to show that butterflies grow from caterpillars on particular plants. For a nature lover or anyone who delights in old botanical art.

Add four of your own photos and your own words; we print the card in the US and post it for you.

On the back

From the great natural-history books of the 1700s to the 1900s / Cherries and Blue Morphos / From Suriname / Merian was one of the first to show that butterflies come from caterpillars on particular plants, and she drew every stage, from egg to caterpillar to wing. / Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, 1705 / Maria Sibylla Merian sailed to Suriname at 52 to draw insects with the plants they feed on.

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