iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 22/07/2026

This beautiful #butterfly has been feasting in my garden all afternoon. Enjoy these closeups! I like how her proboscis is very visible in the second photo! #photography #art #nature #bugsky #bloomscrolling 🦋🌱🐡🧬🍎🧪👩‍🔬

Eastern yellow swallowtail on coneflower

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 19/07/2026

While these fritillaries love the coneflowers in my garden, they actually rely on wild violets for laying their eggs. They lay their eggs on withered violets and caterpillars hatch and go into a dormant state for winter. #bugsky #bloomscrolling #butterfly #photography #naturephotography 🍎🧬🧪👩‍🔬🌱🦋🐡

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 17/07/2026

Mini harvest! Surprised I got some before the chipmunks! 🌱🍓🍅

Some strawberries and small tomatoes in a bowl

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 12/07/2026

Cool read: www.americanscientist.org/article/curi... Hydrangea color varies based on aluminum availability, not internal pH shifts. Soil pH determines if roots can absorb metals to form colorful coordination complexes w/anthocyanin pigments. White ones lack these pigments 🦋🐡🧬🧪🥽👩‍🔬🍎📷🌱 #bloomscrolling

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 12/07/2026

Couple other versions I've been playing with.

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 12/07/2026

Very excited to introduce my new logo! I'll be gradually updating my sites to incorporate it. www.stemfactually.com #stemfactually #smallbusiness #logo #graphicdesign #stem #womanownedbusiness

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 11/07/2026

Butterfly weed is another host plant for monarch butterflies. It's a type of milkweed and a valuable native plant across most of the US. It lacks the white sap associated with common milkweed. This photo was taken in my Dad's gardens. 🦋🌱🍎👩‍🔬🥽🧪🧬🐡 #photography

Butterfly weed orange flowers on a leafy green background

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 11/07/2026

Robber fly enjoying lunch. Robber flies inject a neurotoxin into their prey which liquifies their insides. 🦋🧪🥽👩‍🔬🍎🌱🐡🧬 #photography #bugsky

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 10/07/2026

Never forget to stop and smell the...bugs? Here's a netwing beetle who could use some appreciation. Found him hanging out in my pumpkin vines. 🌱🍎👩‍🔬🥽🧪🪲🦋🐡 #photography #art #bugsky

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 10/07/2026

Love these guys! Great photos. I photograph them too!

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 10/07/2026

Not all ladybugs we see in our gardens are native. I found this Asian lady beetle in my garden today. You can tell by the "W" shape on the white part of its exoskeleton. They're welcome in my garden if they're eating aphids, but I'd like to try to support a native population. 🧪🥽👩‍🔬🌱🍎🐞🦋

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 10/07/2026

Found this little leafhopper nymph eating my sage plant. Fortunately there's enough for both of us Note all the little hairs on the leaf. They make the sage surprisingly hydrophobic which helps with cleaning and reducing fungal growth. I'll comment a photo of water beads on the leaves! 🦋🧪🥽🧬👩‍🔬🌱🌿🍎

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 08/07/2026

Made a simple coin cell battery with the kids today. They really appreciated the concept of a battery when we wrapped it up and related it to the ones we buy in the store. Got 1 V and powered a small LED. 👩‍🔬🧬🧪🦋🥽🍎🔋 #kids #parenting #momsknowsciencetoo

Coin cell battery with copper and zinc disks.

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 06/07/2026

Update, but the last one for this bunch because my kids ate the blue ones! 🧪👩‍🔬🥽🍎🫐🦋🌱

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 05/07/2026

Post your favorite garden helpers! For me it's probably toads and bumblebees. Found this guy in my garden yesterday! Not only do toads eat pests, their skin contains neat antimicrobial peptides that help protect them while they hang out in the dirt. 🌱🦋🍎🥽👩‍🔬🧪🐸🧬

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 04/07/2026

Blueberries soon enough! 🫐 Just waiting on some sugars and anthocyanins 🧪👩‍🔬🥽🍎🌱🦋 #photography #garden #plants #nature

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 02/07/2026

Found an invasive bee with his foot stuck in milkweed (natives are stronger and able to break free), and a goldenrod crab spider seized the moment and ate him #natureismetal 🌱🦋 #bugsky

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 01/07/2026

It's a big world out there! *Insert shameless plug about hiring a STEM Mentor* lol Check out this spotless lady beetle I found in my garden yesterday! Thanks for eating all those aphids 🪲 🐞 #bugsky #ladybugwithnospots #photography #photo #stemfactually 🦋🌱🧪👩‍🔬🍎🥽🐡

Spotless ladybug on the edge of a white planter

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 01/07/2026

Got "swarmed" by these weevils in my garden yesterday. #bugsky 🌱🦋🪲

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 29/06/2026

Bets on if this will turn red before the chipmunks steal it? Here's a fun read about strawberry chemistry from @rsc.org : What's in your strawberries? | Feature | RSC Education share.google/uJakzMQJDkVw... 🍓 🌱🧪👩‍🔬🥽🍎🦋

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 28/06/2026

Milkweed isn't just home to our favorite caterpillars, lots of other bugs call it home and/or a food source as well. Check out this goldenrod crab spider, #bees, and beetle hanging out on their food source. #summer 🧪👩‍🔬🥽🐡🍎🌱🐛🦋🐝 🕷️

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 28/06/2026

Yes! My kids and I have fun hunting through every year for caterpillars. It's amazing how many bugs call milkweed home. So many beetles, spiders, bees. I found this guy today not far from the caterpillar

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 27/06/2026

It's milkweed season! Keep an eye out for these guys! Monarchs only eat milkweed, so think and identify before pulling weeds and using herbicides. Without flowers, we have no pollinators. 🦋🌱🍎🐛🐡🥽👩‍🔬🧪

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 26/06/2026

Looks like this year's first garden fruit is a coolapeno! I accidentally mistook it for a jalapeno, but I'm excited to try it. #funfact the molecule missing is called capsaicin (C₁₈H₂₇NO₃) #summer 🦋🌱🍎🧬🥽👩‍🔬🌶️🫑🧪

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 25/06/2026

Oh hey there little fella! 🥽🍎🧬🦋🌱🐡🧪🐞

Black and white bug on a soybean plant leaf

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 24/06/2026

Found this beautiful bee buzzing in what I think is false indigo in my new yard. Thanks for pollinating, friend! #bloomscroll #bloomscrolling #bee #savethebees #summer 🧪👩‍🔬🌱🌸🐝🪻🌷

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 07/06/2026

Soon we will have blueberries! If the chipmunks don't eat them all green ha 🫐 🐿️ 🌱👩‍🔬🦋

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 06/06/2026

Cranesbill. I've enjoyed discovering all the new flowers in the yard. We bought the house last winter! #bloomscrolling #bloomscroll #spring #flowers #newhouse 🌱🦋🌸

Pink flower with blurred foliage background

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 29/04/2026

Found some grape hyacinth! #bloomscrolling #spring 🌱🍎👩‍🔬🪻

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 28/04/2026

I love seeing the first signs of #spring We moved into a new house this past winter and discovering all our new plants has been very exciting. Forsythia is pictured! 🧬🍎👩‍🔬🧪🥽🌱🌻🌼 #bloomscrolling #bloomscroll #flowers

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 14/10/2025

Last round of wildflowers! Somehow they survived the freeze! #bloomscrolling 🌱 🌼

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 19/07/2025

I didn't know bachelor's buttons could be pink! Found this guy in my wildflower pots. #bloomscrolling #flower #garden 🌱

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 06/07/2025

1/2 Fifteen minutes in my dad's milkweed gardens and look at all the neat bugs I found! #nature #plantmilkweed #bloomscrolling #bugs #plantnatives 🌱🍎🧬👩‍🔬

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 03/07/2025

Iridescence of dragonfly wings is caused by structural coloration. When light passes through microscopic surface structures w/varying refractive indices, constructive & destructive interference occur. This enhances some wavelengths of light, creating vivid colors dependent upon viewing angle 🧪🍎🥽👩‍🔬🌱🧬⚛️

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 03/07/2025

Catching three dragonflies in one shot has to be lucky right #lucky #dragonfly #bugs 🌱

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 26/06/2025

Look at how they change color too, it's so neat!

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 25/06/2025

After months of battling what feels like every pest possible, I got a rose! It's changing color! Yesterday it was light yellow and pink; today it's significantly more vibrant. Very neat! I'm excited to see what it looks like tomorrow. Wonder if it's temperature, pH, or just the hybrid🌹 🌱 🧪 🍎🥽👩‍🔬🧬

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Dr. Marissa Civic @stemfactually.com · 24/06/2025

I took this photo at a park near Syracuse, NY a few years ago. Unedited...just the beauty of nature! I remember how peaceful it was like it was yesterday. #NY #Syracuse #nature #woods #trees #YesNY

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