In Canada, researchers use AI to save the bugs

This butterfly lives in safety at the Montreal Insectarium in Canada, the largest insect museum in North America. But its wild brethren are endangered. Worldwide, 40% of all insect species are now threatened with extinction. Here at the insectarium and across various North American regions, insects are now being observed with the help of artificial intelligence.

Director of the Montreal Insectarium Maxim Larrivee checks a solar-powered photo station that takes pictures of insects, who are attracted by UV lamps, every 10 seconds. Artificial intelligence helps to identify the subjects.

A butterfly lands on the photo trap, the likes of which are being installed all over North America. "We found that when we went to Panama and tested our sensor systems in the rainforest, within a week we found 300 new species. And that is just the tip of the iceberg," David Rolnick, biodiversity specialist at the Quebec AI Institute, who is working on the project, called Antenna, told AFP.

Giant prickly stick insects perform gymnastics in the Insectarium. AI models could double the amount of biodiversity data collected over the past 150 years in just two to five years, Larrivee told AFP. But time is of the essence. "Of all the mass extinctions we have experienced in the past, the one affecting insects is happening a thousand times faster," he said.

Some butterflies in the Insectarium are marked with stickers for identification. According to Larrivee, insect populations are declining so rapidly that it has not been possible to monitor and find solutions. The Antenna project aims to remedy this by quantifying the extent of the losses.

Visitors to the Insectarium study just some of the world’s estimated 10 million insect species, which account for half of the world's biodiversity. So far, just 1 million of them have been documented and studied. The improved data gathering with AI should provide "decision-making tools for governments and environmentalists" to develop protective measures, Larrivee said.

While many species remain mysterious, the causes of insect extinction are well known: climate catastrophe, habitat loss and the intensive use of pesticides in agriculture. Butterflies, hymenoptera, dragonflies, mayflies and dung beetles are among the most endangered species. This magnificent Giant African Flower Beetle also faces an uncertain future. 

The Antenna research project is based on an open-source model that should enable everyone to contribute to enriching the database. And it already serves educational purposes: Visitors to the Montreal Insectarium can take photos of butterflies and use an app to determine their species.

A caravan of ants transports food across a branch at the Montreal Insectarium. Insects form the basis of the food chain for most land-dwelling animal species, including humans, because many crops depend on pollination. Insects also eat pests and clean and loosen the soil, making it fertile. Their silent extinction would be catastrophic.