The work of Merian is considerable. In his day, it was really rare for someone to be interested in insects. The metamorphosis was almost unknown animals. The fact that she published The Caterpillar, wonderful transformation and strange floral food in German made it popular in high society. For this same reason, was defugida by scientists of his time, as the official language for science was Latin.

Parallel to metamorphosis, Maria Sibylla Merian also described many other details of the evolution and life of insects. He showed, for example, that each caterpillar depends on a small number of plants for its food and that, so, the eggs were laid near these plants. This work made her one of the first naturalists to actually observe insects, which allowed him to explore many aspects of their development.

Continue your research in Surinam was its greater originality. Generally their contemporaries traveled to colonies to find items, make collections and work on them or to settle. Scientific travel was almost unknown at the time, so the project was taken as an eccentricity Maria.

reached, But, discover in the lands of Suriname a whole series of completely new animals and plants, with its classification, depicting in great detail. Its classification of the butterflies day and night (that called butterfly-chapels and butterflies-owls) is still valid. Used for plants that the names of Indians imported to Europe.

The drawings of plants, serps, spiders, hand-made tropical iguanas and beetles are still considered works of art and collected by amateurs around the world.. The German word Vogelspinne (migale), literally spider-bird probably derives from one of his engravings - inspired by one of the sketches of Suriname- represents an enormous spider capturing a bird.

• New book of flowers [New flower book], volume 1, 1675.4
• New book of flowers, volume 2, 1677.4
• New book of flowers, volume 3, 1677.4
• The child, wonderful transformation and strange floral feeding [The crawler wonderful transformation and strange flower food], 1679.5
• Insect metamorphosis of Suriname [Metamorphosis of insects Surinamensium], 1705.6

Although his work was rich, care and new, his name fell into oblivion after his death, in 1717. It was not until the twentieth century that rescued its scientific figure.