Thousands of little blue creatures are washing up on California beaches...

[DGUtley]

Thousands of little blue creatures are washing up on California beaches...


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The Velella velella, a name so nice you gotta say it twice.
Who are they? The tiny disc-like critters are colonial hydrozoans, classified under the phylum of cnidaria, and their eponymous genus of Velella (not a Game of Thrones reference).

• Formally titled the Velella velella (say that five times fast) you may know them as by-the-wind sailors.
• The sailors are a couple of inches long, and vary in striking shades of cobalt and baby blue while they're alive.
• They have a similar build to jellyfish, but have a small sail protruding from their bell, explaining the name and their migratory patterns.
  
  
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[stjames1_53]

Thousands of little blue creatures are washing up on California beaches...


Attachment 56979


The Velella velella, a name so nice you gotta say it twice.
Who are they? The tiny disc-like critters are colonial hydrozoans, classified under the phylum of cnidaria, and their eponymous genus of Velella (not a Game of Thrones reference).

• Formally titled the Velella velella (say that five times fast) you may know them as by-the-wind sailors.
• The sailors are a couple of inches long, and vary in striking shades of cobalt and baby blue while they're alive.
• They have a similar build to jellyfish, but have a small sail protruding from their bell, explaining the name and their migratory patterns.
  
  
  Attachment 56980
  
  
  Attachment 56981

I wonder if they would make good bass bait................

[OLD GUY IN FLORIDA]

I remember once when in the Navy we sent though a stretch of these things off the coast of Vietnam. They stretched for miles and no one knew what they were other than "Jelly Fish". Now, 55 years later I finally know what they were!

Thanks Mr. D.

[NoisyBoy]

Do they come in peace?

[Peter1469]

Can you eat them?

[OLD GUY IN FLORIDA]

Can you eat them?

Only with peanut butter and tartar sauce.