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Lobster Day
"There once was a lobster named Fred,
With a tartan of orange and blue thread.
He danced in the bay,
A crustacean ballet,
And waltzed with the fish, it is said!"
~Lobster Limerick (without clarified butter)
If you're tempted to don a kilt for a lobster feast—or dress up your favorite Celtic crustacean—this one-of-a-kind tartan vibrates with the bold colors of the common red lobster and the rare blue one! Spotting a blue lobster is a one-in-30-million chance, making them a special, but occasionally seen, sight compared to their grayish-green cousins. Even rarer still was the 2018 discovery by a Canadian fisherman near Grand Manan Island of a pastel pink and blue "cotton candy" lobster—a one-in-100-million wonder! While plants can create blue pigments through anthocyanins, most animals cannot. The blue hue of lobsters comes from a genetic mutation that causes them to produce excess protein. This protein binds with a red/orange molecule called astaxanthin to form a blue complex known as crustacyanin, giving the lobster its stunning color! 🧡 ❤️ 💙 🦞 🦞 🦞
The U.S. Senate declared September 25 as National Lobster Day in honor of New England's most celebrated crustacean, citing the lobster's cultural and economic importance to the region.
Interestingly, just like humans, lobsters can be right-handed, left-handed, or ambidextrous. Many lobster species can live to be over 100 years old and most travel over 100 miles a year in migratory patterns.
Most wild lobsters are dark blue-green or greenish brown. However, there are several rare-coloured lobsters. The blue lobster, for example, occurs at a rate of once in two million; the even rarer red lobster occurs once in 30 million; while the most rare lobsters are the yellow lobster (1 in 50 million) and the calico lobster. A lobster split down the middle into two separate colour sides has even been found!
This tartan, by designer Carol A.L. Martin, honors these colourful rarities of nature.
For a roundup of rare lobster colours, click the blue lobster.