Biological species and lake range
Caridina glaubrechti — Malili / Lake Towuti
Original pictured ecological and lineage evidence
Habitat / trophic ecogroup
Shallow rocky habitat
Identification and species history
Red Orchid Bee is a Towuti wild species based on scientific field taxon, not the selectively bred Taiwan Bee varieties.
Conservation and field evidence
IUCN 2019 assessed CR from invasive predators, habitat changes and collection, with projected declines not a verified current count.
Captive-breeder authentication
Neither trade Red Orchid pattern nor red pigment indicates Crystal Red gene ancestry.
Published captive brood counts
No scored captive F1/F2 color segregation or exact parent IDs in these sources
Inherited commercial color traits
Wild-species phylogeny and habitat grouping only, no commercial color gene allele
Ethical conservation and species verification
Keep documented captive-bred stock with provenance and stable species-appropriate conditions; never release aquarium stock to natural waterways or interpret this record as authorization to collect, relocate, or purchase rare wild animals.
Original source ledger
- von Rintelen et al. 2010 ancient Malili adaptive radiation
Peer-reviewed mitochondrial phylogeny and substrate counts for 15 endemic taxa; 2010 lake-wide sample; two colonization events, one producing 14 taxa, without a validated chromosome-level or hobby mating tree
- von Rintelen & Cai 2009 systematic revision, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology
Original taxonomic revision of the ancient-lake Caridina and eight described species; This paper documents field taxa and anatomy; not commercial genetic pedigrees
- IUCN 2019 C. glaubrechti risk assessment
Red List CR for Towuti endemic habitat specialist; Projected >90% decline should never be reported as observed 2025–26 percentage