Engraving from the 1771 Book Deliciae Naturae Selectae

This elegant group of insects is a detail from an engraving by George Wolfgang Knorr from the 1771 book Deliciae Naturae Selectae, coauthored with Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller. Knorr’s illustrations are based on specimens found in European cabinets of curiosity and other Dutch and German natural history collections of his era. In this view, a praying mantis of some sort is flanked by two views of what appears to be a jewel beetle in the genus Chrysochroa, from southeast Asia. The book’s text in Dutch makes use of obscure common names no longer in use, so the identity of the small green insect is mysterious. The rare book was given to the Library at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History by the Irene McCulloch Foundation. The Museum currently has two exhibits featuring winged wonders – The Collectors: A Life in Lepidoptera in Maximus Gallery and Butterflies Alive! in the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion (both through September 7).