I discovered this book after reading [book:The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World's Favorite Insect|51997587] ... which introduced me to Maria Merian. Some of her history and art. I wanted to learn more. This book was available from the library - while a physical copy IS the way to go, so many wonderful illustrations, and tidbits of text in Maria's own hand (calligraphy), and photos and side topics ... there was an audiobook. Audio is easier for me (I can listen while doing other things) so I did go with the audio to get the information/text, and then I sat down with the book. It is always interesting to me to "reread" and see if I really absorbed all the text via audio. I felt like I did here. It was a quick, reread/skim as I looked at everything audio hadn't been able to include. Which is a lot. I also appreciated the presentation. Audio had done as well as it could have including everything, but it felt a little disjointed (why are we suddenly talking about witches?) and in print, it was easy to see that it was a separate section, addressing just that topic.

I really loved the set up ... the table of contents. Paralleling Maria's life with that of a butterfly.
Chapter 1: Egg
Chapter 2: Hatching
Chapter 3: First Instar
Chapter 4: Second Instar
Chapter 5: Third Instar
Chapter 6: Fourth Instar
Chapter 7: Molting
Chapter 8: Pupa
Chapter 9: Enclosing
Chapter 10: Expanding
Chapter 11: Flight
Chapter 12: Egg

Then there was a wrap up "A Woman in Her World", and Author's Note, and a Timeline (included in audio), Quote Sources, Bibliography, For Further Reading, Acknowledgements, Image Credits, Index.  

So really complete - a ton of information. It was presented very well, easy to read and understand and follow. In the book The Language of Flowers there was a photo of the author of the book and a researcher looking at "an original copy of Maria Sibylla Merian's hand-painted tome on the insects of Suriname" and I love how it shows the SIZE of the book, which is so much larger than I would have thought. Really made it real for me.

5* as this is a book I ended up purchasing for my home bookshelf. It's one I'd encourage others to read, one I'll refer back to. Love the illustrations and information. 

We had our own "research" ... happened to catch a monarch laying an egg, and we watched the caterpillar grow. We witnessed the incredible enclosing. We missed the emergence. https://youtu.be/9idqQEF4CSM?si=ln71ezkmcZDD7OME