A dense gathering of insects is minutely rendered in a shallow space surrounding the ghostlike images of two flowers whose pigments have faded. The high-keyed naturalism and subtle modeling of the insects reflect the artist's close observation and attention to detail, while the placement of the dark stag beetle at the top and the pair of butterflies perched on the cartouche below give the composition a strong central symmetry. The Latin text quoted within the cartouche comes from Psalm 104, a hymn to God the Creator that addresses the Lord "who makest the clouds thy chariot, who ridest on the wings of the wind." The text not only suits the subject but also reminds us that the artist, Joris Hoefnagel, was familiar with the traditions of medieval religious manuscript illumination. This study resembles book illustrations that Joris's son Jacob (1573–1630) designed for Archetypa Studiaque, published in 1592. Both father and son worked as court artists for Rudolf II, whose Kunstkammer would have contained a range of specimens similar to the ones depicted on this exquisite vellum sheet.

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