09/02/2026
Dolly has taken flight! 🦋
After emerging this morning and spending several hours resting while those beautiful new wings hardened, Dolly was released back into the Farmstead fields where the egg was originally found.
Most eastern monarchs emerging after mid-August enter reproductive diapause, a special stage that delays reproduction and allows them to migrate. That means Dolly is likely part of this year’s fall migratory generation, although we cannot know for certain without tracking.
As an adult, Dolly will drink nectar from late-season wildflowers to build energy reserves. If migratory, Dolly will use air currents, an internal sun compass, and other remarkable innate instincts to travel toward the overwintering forests of central Mexico. Some monarchs beginning farther north travel up to 3,000 miles; Dolly’s journey from Tennessee would be shorter, but still incredible.
Migratory monarchs may live for six to nine months instead of only a few weeks. If Dolly completes the journey, Dolly could spend the winter in Mexico and travel north to the southern United States next spring to reproduce. Dolly’s offspring would then continue the journey north as part of the monarchs’ multigenerational relay.
Safe travels, Dolly! We’ll be watching for Joshua, Carl Dean, and Jolene to make their grand entrances next.
Check the comments for more photos of Dolly!
