The great South Sea caterpillar, transform'd into a Bath butterfly., James Gillray, 1795

A creature with the head of sir joseph banks, a body defined by the ribbon of the bath and roughly in the form of a chrysalis, and with the wings of a butterfly, rises (right) from a mud flat surrounded by sea. His head and body are decorated with trails of leaves; on his wings are sea-creatures: a shell, lobster, starfish, &c, and an (empty) cornucopia. He wears the jewel of the bath with three insects (in place of crowns) in the centre. He is rising towards rays which radiate from a sun enclosing a crown in the upper right corner of the design. Caterpillars are emerging from the mud flat. Beneath the title: 'description of the new bath butterfly - taken from the "philosophical transactions for 1795" - "this insect first crawl'd into notice from | among the weeds & mud on the banks of the south sea; & being afterwards placed in a warm situation by the royal society, was | changed by the heat of the sun into its present form------ it is notic'd & valued solely on account of the beautiful red which encircles | its body, & the shining spot on its breast; a distinction which never fails to render caterpillars valuable. ' 4 july 1795 hand-coloured etching. Date: 1795. Dimensions: Height: 350 mm; Width: 247 mm. Medium: paper. Depicted People: Sir Joseph Banks. Collection: British Museum. The great South Sea caterpillar, transform'd into a Bath butterfly. (BM 1868,0808.6454)