In this book a monarch enthusiast describes how to collect and rear these handsome butterflies, famous for their interesting migration patterns, and how to release specimens tagged with symbols by which they can be identified.

Monarchs gather in autumn to fly away, often in huge brilliantly colored clouds. Where do they go? How long do they stay?  Such questions interest scientists and amateurs alike. Mrs. Hopf gives her readers an idea of what has been discovered as well as some of the still unanswered questions.

A homemade net for collecting monarchs can serve as well as the manufactured kind, and a grocery carton makes a good cape. The author tells how to construct these and how to feed and care for monarch specimens in all stages. It can be thrilling to observe a monarch breaking out of the egg, a baby caterpillar, and finally emerging from the chrysalis, a large flame-colored butterfly. The author's own sense of excitement communicates itself as she describes all this.

There are detailed instructions for photographing the insects with a simple camera, explicit directions for stamping or tagging the butterflies, as well as information on possible membership in an established tagging program.

Mrs. Hopf points out some of the many puzzles surrounding the monarch, and shows how boys and girls can participate in the search for solutions by their own investigations.

Scientifically accurate illustrations by Peter Barchard add further information to an absorbing book.

From the dust jacket