For $10 in advance or $12 on release day, butterfly fans can purchase an origami-style paper envelope containing a mature monarch, along with an official butterfly sponsorship certificate. The cool darkness of the envelope keeps the insects in a sleep-like state, from which they awaken after exposure to fresh air and sunlight. Unlike many other butterflies, monarchs have strong enough wings to be gently handled without harm.

Each insect also bears a tiny tag with a tracking number, which enables Magical Beginnings' founders Michael Talesfore and Chris Hundley to track where and how far the monarchs travel from their Los Gatos home. After the release, the butterflies will fly around town for a short time, but will soon head over the Santa Cruz Mountains to Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove, where their instincts tell them to "overwinter."

Overwintering, to a monarch, is similar to hibernation to a bear—the butterflies huddle together under the shelter of caves, trees and rocks, and their metabolisms slow. In the spring, they leave their overwintering grounds en mass, at which time they feed on flower nectar, mate and lay eggs.

Talesfore and Hundley are local entrepreneurs who were inspired to create their unusual business after reading an article years ago about a man on the East Coast who raised butterflies in captivity and did butterfly releases for events like weddings and funerals—the same events Magical Beginnings provides for now.

Along with Talesfore and Hundley, butterfly experts will also be present to discuss the insects. The supply of butterflies is limited. Butterfly "reservations" can be purchased in advance at the Wild Bird Center, 792 Blossom Hill Road, and at Kid in a Candy Store, 139 N. Santa Cruz Ave. For more information, call Magical Beginnings at 408.395.5123 or the Wild Bird Center at 408.358.9453.