A watercolour of a prickly apple (Catesbaea spinosa L.) with two zebra swallowtail butterflies (Protographium marcellus (Cramer)). The butterflies are painted onto separate sheets of paper which have been cut out and pasted to the drawing.

Mark Catesby was born in Suffolk and was interested in natural history from an early age. In 1712, he travelled to the east coast of America with his sister Elizabeth, who had married a doctor who practised in Williamsburg, Virginia. Catesby spent seven years in Virginia collecting specimens and seeds for London buyers before returning to Britain. In London his drawings of birds and plants met with praise and a group of benefactors paid for his travel to Carolina in 1722. There, he made numerous drawings of the flora and fauna, working hard to ensure that his depictions were as helpful for an understanding of their subjects as possible. On his return to Britain, his drawings were reproduced in The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, which appeared in a series of volumes between 1729 and 1747. The first volume was dedicated to Queen Caroline, the second to Augusta, Princess of Wales. The original drawings from the volumes, which had been in the possession of Catesby’s widow until her death, were purchased by George III from the London bookseller Thomas Cadell in 1768.

The watercolour was used as the basis for plate 100 in the second volume of the Natural History. In the accompanying text, Catesby noted 'It is no without reluctancy, that I here exhibit a Plant with my own Name annexed to it; but the regard and obligations I owe to my learned friend, Dr. J. F. Gronovius of Leyden, who was pleased some years since to honour me, though undeservedly, with the title of this genus, obliges me not to suppress it.'

For identification of the species depicted see James L. Reveal, 'Identification of the plants and animals illustrated by Mark Catesby for his Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands' in Phytoneuron 2013 and revised online version.