Butterfly Diversity Patterns Provide New Insights Into Biodiversity Conservation in China

ABSTRACT Aim Globally, the knowledge of insect distributions is largely insufficient, and that hinders conservation actions against biodiversity loss. Focusing on butterfly diversity, we aimed to fill knowledge gaps and provide new insights into biodiversity conservation in China. Location China. Time Period Occurrence records from 1950 to 2023. Major Taxa Studied Butterflies, Lepidoptera. Methods We collected butterfly occurrence records from published literature, online databases and our butterfly specimens, and then used either species distribution models or expansion from actual occurrence sites to estimate species distribution ranges in China. We identified key environmental variables that are related to butterfly biodiversity patterns, and delineated priority conservation areas based on butterfly distributions. Results We report the first country‐wide inventory and mapping of China's 1920 butterfly species. The identified hotspots of species richness are distributed mainly in southwestern, southern and southeastern China. Among variables strongly correlated with species richness, the most important one is actual evapotranspiration. Conservation priority areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity 17% area target overlapped well with the hotspots, but only 29.8% of them are covered by existing nature reserves. When that protection target increases to 30%, the additional areas are located mainly in southern China, with its large cities and intensive agriculture. Main Conclusions We find that some protected butterfly species have a larger area of habitat than most species, implying that the list of protected butterflies in China should be revised. Urban and farmland landscapes may help sustain butterfly diversity and they should be considered in conservation planning.