DE jellyfish

July 4, 2010 1:59 PM

Delaware beaches (Rehoboth/Bethany): anyone know how the jellyfish (sea nettle) populations are this weekend? Are we likely to get stung a lot tomorrow?
posted by Westringia F. to Science & Nature (3 answers total)

Best answer: My daughter went swimming in Rehoboth on Thursday. She says there were a lot of jellyfish, but not the kind that sting. They didn't have a lot of tentacles. No one on the beach was stung while she was there, and the waters were packed.

It should be fine!
posted by visual mechanic at 9:20 PM on July 4, 2010

Best answer: I was at rehoboth on Friday and there were a ton of jellyfish in the water (and a bunch of horseshoe crabs and dolphins). I didn't get stung though and kids on the beach were picking them up and messing with them and didn't seem to be suffering any untoward effects.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 10:39 PM on July 4, 2010

Response by poster: Thank you both! We went, and had a great day! Rehoboth Beach was full of harmless moon jellyfish, but barely any stinging sea nettles -- I got lightly stung at one point, but never saw any; we stayed in the water and didn't get stung again.

(In contrast, last Saturday 26 June, Cape Henlopen was full of the same sea nettles that invade the Chesapeake Bay, and enough sea nettle tentacle fragments in the water that wading in was an ouchy experience.)
posted by Westringia F. at 6:40 AM on July 6, 2010