Why Care About Swallowtail Butterflies?

By Perry Thomas

It’s Pollinator Week, y’all!

Pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor), as viewed in the author’s garden, August 13, 2025.

Sometimes I get so focused on my to-do list that I forget to pause and appreciate the beauty of

Kentucky’s natural world. Last summer, a swallowtail butterfly visible from the window of my home office reminded me to step outside and notice the many species that share this journey through life with my family and me.

Appropriately, the swallowtail butterfly has been named the 2026 Pollinator of the Year.

The team at Pollinator Partnership reminds us that swallowtails are not only beautiful, but also important members of healthy ecosystems. Their caterpillars are a valuable food source for birds and other wildlife, helping transfer energy through the food web. As adults, swallowtails feed on nectar and help pollinate flowering plants.

Environmental education programs can help learners understand these important ecological connections. Project WILD, one of KAEE’s award-winning wildlife education curricula, includes activities that bring the value and wonder of pollinators to life.

One favorite activity is The Web of Life, in which participants create a literal web using yarn to connect different plants and animals. As the web changes, learners discover how the loss of any species can affect the health and resilience of the entire ecosystem. A free family version of this learning experience may be downloaded from the Project WILD website.

The iNaturalist community helped me identify the beautiful blue butterfly I spotted from my office window as a pipevine swallowtail. Just as monarch butterflies depend on milkweed to support their caterpillars, pipevine swallowtails depend on pipevine plants as host plants for their larvae.

How Can You Help Swallowtails and Other Pollinators?

• Learn which host plants pollinators need in your area and add them to your landscape. Visit Pollinator Partnership's plant guides for region-specific recommendations.

• Leave some leaf litter and allow plants to overwinter undisturbed, providing shelter for pollinators and other beneficial insects.

• Reduce or eliminate pesticide use whenever possible.

• Spend a few minutes observing the pollinators in your own yard, schoolyard, park, or neighborhood. You may be surprised by the diversity you discover.

• Become a Project WILD leader by participating in one of KAEE’s educator workshops (for details, contact perry@kaee.org).

  
  

This Pollinator Week, take a moment to step outside, look closely, and appreciate the butterflies, bees, moths, beetles, and other pollinators that help keep Kentucky's ecosystems thriving.