MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN (1647-1717)
Branch of Pomegranate with Lanternfly and Cicada
1702-03RCIN 921149
Merian believed, on local testimony, that the Lanternfly (Fulgora laternaria) and Cicada (Fidicina mannifera) were different stages of the same creature but they are in fact entirely distinct animals. The example at the bottom of the sheet is a fabrication, which has the body of a Cicada and the head of a Lanternfly. It is not known where Merian acquired this, but she thought it was an insect in the middle of metamorphosis.