One of the great mysteries of monarch butterflies is how they migrate in the fall to an overwintering area near Mexico City. For 29 years, Amy Stephens has participated in Monarch Watch research, a form of capture-and-release that helps scientists track the monarch migration path. On May 1, 2026, Stephens was notified that a butterfly she tagged on Oct 5, 2025, flew a minimum of 1,124 miles and was found at the El Rosario Sanctuary in Mexico!
“I’ve put identification stickers on thousands of butterflies over the years,” Stephens said. “This is the first time I received positive confirmation that one my butterflies was sighted.”
Stephens first became involved with Monarch Watch in 1998 when she was an educator for the Oklahoma City Zoo. After learning how to net and sticker monarchs, she joined the yearly effort to teach others about the citizen science project, which can be done by anyone, not just scientists. After netting a monarch, a tiny I.D. sticker is added to its lower wing, which does not hurt the butterfly or interfere with its flying.
“It’s hard to image that an insect weighing less than a paperclip can fly from North America to South America!” Stephens said, adding that she’s happy to teach anyone the process. “I have a demonstration kit handy. The hardest part is learning how to net butterflies, but after a little practice, it’s easy enough that even children can successfully help.”
Stephens once had the opportunity to teach members of the 2017 Thunder basketball team how to “tag” monarchs at the zoo. “I was surprised when they acted so nervous about holding butterflies,” Stephens said. “It turned out, they were afraid of harming them with their very large hands–but the fall migrators are very hardy compared to other butterflies.”
Now, as director of the Edmond History Museum, Stephens continues to host butterfly and pollinator events, stating that, “Monarchs are part of Edmond’s history! We’ve all watched them travel through for decades, and I’m so glad that the City of Edmond has committed to planting more milkweed plants in the parks and along highways to help the monarchs survive their mysterious migration.”
The process of tracking has become more advanced over the years. People can now upload butterfly photos to various apps, like Journey North, and in October 2025, Project Monarch began, using tiny radio transmitters on a select group of monarchs. By uploading the Project Monarch app, individuals get pinged on their cell phones whenever one of the transmitters is nearby, helping scientists track the butterflies in real time.
“Fall migration in late September and early October is one of my favorite “holidays” of the year!” Stephens said. “For about two weeks, I’m constantly looking for butterflies to net in front of the museum or in Stephenson Park. Then, I rush home, because the creek in my
neighborhood is a location where monarchs traditionally roost in the trees at night, so I tag a lot of them at dusk. That’s likely when I tagged the Oct 5th butterfly.”
Although that particular butterfly is the first monarch Stephens has received a notification about, Stephens feels certain her efforts have contributed to research in ways she just hasn’t heard about. She’s proud to have recruited countless other citizen scientists by sharing her passion for the mysterious insect that has captured her heart.
“My family, friends, co-workers and hundreds of students have joined me in Monarch Watch over the years,” Stephens said. “When I see a one of these beautiful butterflies flit past, it’s like seeing a personal friend. I can’t help but smile and think, ‘I’m trying to help you.’ I want future generations to find the same enjoyment in seeing monarch migration that we do.”
To learn more, visit MonarchWatch.org or OkiesforMonarchs.org
