Velella velella, you remind me of a Westside Story. Image: Brad Jacobson//Screenshot
If you’re one of the (what feels like) billions of people who’ve been frequenting Southern California beaches lately, you may have noticed something a little strange: thousands of tiny little blue blobs all over the sand. “They’re jellyfish, Alex,” you say. “Just plain old jellyfish.” But they’re not. They are, in fact, something called a hydroid that go by the scientific name of Velella velella, or, to the layman, “by-the-wind sailors.”
Hydoids aren’t jellyfish, although they certainly can resemble them. Instead, though, they’re colonies of animals that attach to rocks and kelp and crabs. When they’re young, they resemble tiny anemones, but as they age, they begin to look like jellies. These particular ones have been washing up in droves from Marin County to Orange County.
With tiny little blue tentacles and a jelly-like body, one could be forgiven for assuming they’re just jellyfish, but on closer inspection by-the-wind-sailors have a cool little feature implied by their name. Along the top of their bodies is a tiny little sail that’s used to help the creatures move across the surface of the ocean.
“California State Parks reported the invertebrates have been washing ashore at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach, and the sailing bodies have been spotted as far north as Point Reyes National Seashore, north of San Francisco,” the L.A. Times wrote. “They’ve also been spotted in San Clemente, Manhattan Beach and along other Southern California beaches.”
While it’s not uncommon for a few by-the-wind-sailors to wash up around spring, the sheer number of them this year is pretty staggering.
“We’re seeing hundreds, probably thousands,” Nona Reimer of Dana Wharf Whale Watching, told the Times. “It’s unusual to see them in these numbers.”
According to researchers, that’s because this year the little guys are enjoying a real boom in food. As waters warm, the amount of food for by-the-wind-sailors increases. That leads a population boom, and since they’re completely at the mercy of the winds and currents, they don’t have much choice about where they end up should the winds want them on the sand.
“By-the-wind-sailors are colonial, floating in large numbers all together on the open sea and because they have no way to fight the salty wind and ocean currents they sometimes wash ashore in great groups,” explained a rep from the California State Parks department.
Although they do have stingers on their tentacles, they’re not something to be worried about… unless you’re plankton. Which, if you are, kudos to you for learning to read. Interestingly, by-the-wind-sailors are related to the Portuguese man-of-war, perhaps the most famous of the gelatinous sea-goers. Those too, like the velella velella, are not true jellyfish.
Although the by-the-wind-sailor’s sting isn’t generally painful to people, the California State Parks went on to warn against touching them, just in case.
“Although harmless to most humans, everyone’s tolerance for their sting is different so it is best to leave these intriguing sailors where you’ve found them on the sand,” they wrote. “Please note all wildlife, rocks, and other natural features should remain where they are in this protected California State Park to keep the habitat healthy. Next time you’re walking on the beach, don’t forget to glance down at your feet every once in a while…you never know what you might see!”
