Google today is celebrating the 366th birthday of Maria Sibylla Merian with a homepage doodle that honors the artist and naturalist.

The Google logo is spelled out with vines and stems attached to the various creatures that Merian studied and painted.

“Today’s doodle has metamorphosed into a tribute for artist and entomologist #MariaSibyllaMerian on her 366th,” Google tweeted.

Merian was born in 1647 in Frankfurt, Germany, the child of publishing magnate Matthaus Merian. The young Maria, however, was more interested in science, namely insects, though she also embraced the arts by painting her favorite creatures.

She moved to Nuremberg in 1670 with her husband, where she published an illustrated book of animals and plants, according to a biography(Opens in a new window) published by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She divorced in 1685 and relocated to the Dutch province of West Friesland with her two daughters and mother. But at age 52, she and one of her daughters journeyed to the Dutch colony of Surinam, in South America. She went without a male escort, which was considered rather dangerous at the time. But Merian was intent on seeing certain animals and plants in person, and she spent two years in Surinam before malaria forced her to return to Amsterdam.

In 1705, she published the illustrated Metamorphosis of the Insects of Surinam based on her travels, which gained her international recognition. “She was the first published woman naturalist and became so respected and well known that many
eminent collectors, including Peter the Great, bought her work,” NMWA said.

A second edition, Dissertation in Insect Generations and Metamorphosis in Surinam, was published after her death in 1717. Ultimately, her portrait appeared on the 500 Deutschmark (above) until Germany switched to the Euro.

Today’s doodle comes two days after Google made headlines for its Sunday doodle of labor activist Cesar Chavez. Some thought the search giant should have honored Easter Sunday instead, but Google defended the decision.

For more of Google’s doodles, see the slideshow below. Recently, the search giant has honored Hitchhiker’s Guide author Douglas Adams, African singer and activist Miriam Makeba, Nicolaus Copernicus, ferris wheel creator George Ferris, and baseball legend Jackie Robinson.