Do any living organisms produce a blue pigment?

Question

Do any living organisms produce a blue pigment?

Question #151120. Asked by BigTriviaDawg.
Last updated May 18 2024.
Originally posted May 17 2024 8:20 PM.

psnz

Answer has 3 votes

Currently Best Answer

psnz

5 year member
1007 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.

Blue pigments among living organisms are incredibly rare. One that does create a true blue pigment is the Obrina Olivewing butterfly ("Nessaea obrinus".)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nessaea_obrinus

There is no vertebrate able to produce a true blue pigment.

When we see blue animals — blue jays, for example — the blue hue is actually the result of a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering, which is the same phenomenon that makes the sky appear blue.

https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/nature-curiosity-why-blue-so-rare-animals/

https://www.livescience.com/why-blue-rare-in-nature.html

Response last updated by psnz on May 17 2024.
May 17 2024, 8:22 PM

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Answer 1

elburcher

Answer has 0 votes

elburcher

24 year member
1523 replies avatar

Answer has 0 votes.

There is/was the Fugate family of Kentucky, the family had a rare genetic disorder and some members had blue skin.

https://mysteriousfacts.com/blue-people-of-kentucky/

May 18 2024, 9:07 AM

Answer 2

Vegetation that has long provided blue pigment for dyes (indigotin) would include woad and (true) indigo. There is recent (2021) work to obtain a blue pigment from red cabbage. Other flowers like cornflower, iris, and hyacinth can also be used to get blue dye. Blue corn/maize varieties exist.

https://www.britannica.com/plant/woad,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigofera_tinctoria,

https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/make-natural-fabric-blue-dyes-2145738,

https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/04/09/natural-blue-dye-found-in-cabbage-could-put-an-end-to-synthetic-blues,

https://www.ediblenm.com/a-future-for-blue-corn/

Do any living organisms produce a blue pigment?

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