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Attract Pipevine Swallowtail Butterflies to Your Garden Want to see a pipevine swallowtail butterfly in your own garden? Try planting native pipevines host plants to draw them in. The pipevine swallowtail seems like a drab black butterfly, until you get a glimpse of the iridescent blue lower wings of the male flashing in the sun. Once you see that, I promise, you’ll be hooked and want to attract this butterfly to your own garden! Here’s what you need to know about their life cycle and host plants. Jill Staake The pipevine swallowtail ( Battus philenor) flies across most of the U.S., with the exception of the Northwest. It has the distinctive swallowtail shape, with tails extending from the lower wings. These tails are used as a form of defense—a predator attempting to snatch this butterfly from the air is likely just to get a mouthful of tail while the rest of the butterfly takes off. Females are a fairly uniform black on top, with a row of white spots along the lower wing edge. Males display that distinctive iridescent blue. Both have a row of orange and white spots on their underwings, backed by blue.