Where Do Idaho’s Monarchs Go? Help Us Solve the Mystery.

For more than 14 years, the Washington State University Pacific Northwest Monarch Tagging Program has shown that nearly all Oregon and Washington Monarch butterflies migrate to California to overwinter along the coast. But Idaho’s Monarchs have left scientists with an unanswered question.

Despite tagging thousands in Idaho, only three have ever been recovered in California, suggesting they may travel a very different route, possibly due south through Utah and Arizona, and perhaps all the way to Mexico. Traditional paper tags haven’t been enough to solve this mystery.

Thanks to recent technological advances, we now have a breakthrough. Tiny, solar-powered electronic transmitters—called E-tags—can safely be carried by Monarchs and allow researchers to track individual butterflies in real time. These signals are picked up by nearby Bluetooth-enabled cell phones and sent to a central database, giving scientists an unprecedented look at migration routes across wide, open landscapes where sightings are rare.

This year, the goal is to E-tag 100 Monarchs in Idaho, but each tag costs $200, and we need your help.

Donations of any size make a difference, and if you sponsor a full tag, you can name your Monarch and follow its journey on your phone.

By supporting this project, you’re helping solve the Idaho Monarch Mystery and protecting the future of this extraordinary species.

Learn more or donate at adoptamonarch.org.

Thank you for being part of the discovery.