Weekly Departures (Sep 10- Sep 17 2026) 🦋

It’s Time for Another Departure!

Hello again, Team Monarch!! If you have been checking Butterfly Departures on the Adopt A Monarch website, you are aware that a number of butterflies have been released in both Idaho and Oregon! As of today, one half of the adoptions have joined the Fall migration, collecting tracking data along the way. What an exciting time for monarch conservation!

Each week we will continue to release another group of tagged Monarchs until all have taken flight.  Be sure to frequently check the ‘Butterfly Departures’ terminal HERE if your butterfly is yet to be released.*

NEXT TO DEPLOY ON SEPT. 12th: Samaria, ID

On The Runway:

WR013 SUSAN          WR026 PEGASUS          WR027 HERCULES          WR028 IONA          WR029 BOISE
WR034 HAVEN          WR031 ARCO                 WR032 SAMARIA             WR033 SURVIVOR
WR030 BLACKFOOT

EXPECTED TO DEPLOY NEXT WEEK (subject to sufficient butterflies):

Elkton and Phoenix, OR

Packing Their Bags:

WR131 SIMONE        WR132 SIMONE              WR133 PLEXI                  WR134 GWEN-VI-SATSUMA-AMORA

WR135 SPIKE            WR136 BELLA PAPILIO  WR137 FLAPPY               WR138 MARY SPORES

WR139 MALAYA        WR140 JULIE O SHEA    WR141 JANE ELDEN      WR142 RACHEL CARSON

WR143 HAZEL           WR144 EDDIE B

WR117 BARBIE         WR118 PRICE!                 WR119 NOWINSKI 799   WR120 DEBBIE SUE

WR121 SIMONE        WR122 SIMONE               WR123 SIMONE              WR124 GARVEY
WR125 HOPE            WR126 BARBARA            WR127 GEM                    WR128 JUSTINATTI
WR129 MONA LISA  WR130 MARY                   WR145 BETSY                WR116 LESLIE DIANE

WR180 JAMISON      WR191 RUSTY                 WR192 LIZ                       WR193 BECKY

WR199 FERN             WR200 CHRISTINE 51726

*Although we will attempt to contact you prior to your butterfly’s release, it is VITAL that you check the Adopt A Monarch’s ‘Butterfly Departure’ page frequently if not daily to keep abreast of your monarch’s ‘departure’ status. It will also be helpful to know the city where your butterfly will be released. Monarch deployments are grouped by release location on our emails sent to you. This city information is available on the website’s Departure page.  

Pictured here: WR017 KSSWCD 2 deploying from Salmon, Idaho; Photo taken by Bill Harryman on Sept. 6th, 2026

A Special Thank You to the “Late” Deployers:

We would like to extend special gratitude to adoptive parents with butterflies waiting to depart late Sept. or early Oct. Every location has been chosen for strategic reasons, and some of the last cities to deploy are the most important in terms of scientific research. We thank you greatly for your patience. While you wait, we encourage you to follow some other butterflies on the app. Here are a few to get you started:

WR107 PORTLANDIA (she wanted to see the ocean!)

WR114 KING FELIX (a strong flyer, making good time!)

WR173 SIMONE (where is this lil gal headed? We are intrigued…)

It sure is exciting to ‘see’ the movement of the monarchs once they are released. This important scientific breakthrough is providing us with ‘live time’ information about monarch migratory patterns as they make their way to the overwintering sites in either Mexico or along the California coast. Your butterfly’s Blū Morpho radio tracker is collecting hundreds of crowdsourced “pings” as the monarch moves. The maps are collecting data in real time and provide a window into your butterfly’s daily life! And if your monarch has already been released, it is a lot of fun and very exciting to follow the remaining WR departures!

Thanks again for taking part in this inaugural migration tracking year.

Wings Up!

The Monarch Deployment Team at WingsRising!