Dataset for Projecting Changes in Potential Distribution and Species Richness of Swallowtail Butterflies (Family Papilionidae, Order Lepidoptera) under Climate Change

This study quantitatively assessed the impact of climate change on the distribution and species richness of swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae, Lepidoptera) by constructing species distribution models for 12 swallowtail butterfly species inhabiting Korea and generating current and future species richness change data. A total of 7,320 occurrence points were obtained by integrating nationwide survey data from the National Institute of Ecology and the Korea National Park Service. Bioclimatic variables (Bio01, Bio02, Bio03, Bio12, Bio13, Bio14) derived from Korea Meteorological Administration climate data were used as input. The species distribution models were constructed using the Random Forest algorithm within the BIOMOD2 environment. Species richness under the current climate (2000-2019 mean) at the 1 km² grid scale was high in the central and southern mountainous regions, the southern and western coasts, and the mid-mountain areas of Jeju Island. Aggregated at the city (si), county (gun), district (gu) level, some coastal, island, and mountainous areas were also identified as key high-richness regions. Future climate scenario projections (SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5) indicated that butterfly species richness generally decreased over time. High-richness areas contracted to the southern coast and parts of Jeju Island, with most regions converging toward low richness. Contribution analysis of environmental variables revealed that annual mean temperature (Bio01) and annual precipitation (Bio12) were the key variables explaining the distribution of most species, suggesting that the Papilionidae family is a taxon sensitive to temperature and precipitation changes. The individual distribution and species richness data for 12 species constructed in this study can serve as foundational spatial information for assessing climate change vulnerability, establishing conservation strategies for endangered species, identifying candidate future climate refugia, and developing regional climate adaptation policies.