Since 2019, Maxim Larrivée has been the director of the Insectarium de Montréal. He is passionate about the distribution of insect species over time and space, and is also interested in the tools used to document this distribution. He combines several innovative approaches to biodiversity monitoring, including participatory science and artificial intelligence.
- Study of the impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on the biodiversity of various groups of arthropods
- Founder and codirector of eButterfly, a project monitoring the biodiversity of butterflies
- Founder and codirector of Mission monarch, an international program documenting the reproductive success of the monarch
- Founder of the Nunavik Sentinels project
- Discover his writings on our blog
Areas of research and expertise
- Ecophysiology of woody species
- Participatory science and biodiversity information management
- Development of tools for insect monitoring and identification using artificial intelligence
- Biophilia
Education
Postdoctoral training – Macroecology
University of Ottawa
Doctorate – Entomology
McGill University
Master’s – Landscape ecology
Carleton University
Setting up networks to expand knowledge
In the spring of 2022, Maxim Larrivée led the successful opening of the new Insectarium. Alongside his colleagues from Espace pour la vie, he collaborates on strategies to reconnect people with nature and encourage its conservation.
The entomologist also works on furthering the growth of participatory science initiatives.
Maxim Larrivée founded and codirects eButterfly, a participatory science program that documents the distribution and diversity of butterflies worldwide, as well as Mission Monarch, which focuses on identifying the breeding grounds of monarch butterflies in Canada.
He also set up an insect monitoring network in Quebec’s Far North in collaboration with the Nunavik regional government – the Nunavik Sentinels project – where young Inuit and Crees are trained and hired to monitor pollinating insects in their communities.